The Fusion Ultimatum
by skca54
Summary: Stephanie Walker, aka Psyche, was part of a US Government experiment codenamed Urban Predator. The experiment was compromised and abandoned. On hearing about Stephanie and her lost childhood, Mindy Lizewski, aka Hit Girl, began a crusade to destroy those responsible for destroying yet another young girl's childhood. The destination will be Europe. A story from my Forsaken universe.
1. The Chase Begins

**Authors Note:** _This will be my twenty-fifth (published) story. The story belongs in my Kick-Ass_ **Forsaken** _universe and will use characters and events from that story. The story fits in chronologically after_ **Chapter 265: Storm Clouds Building – Part I** _of_ **Forsaken** _and follows on from events in that story. We will be taking Hit Girl, Kick-Ass, and most of their team, on a whirlwind tour of Europe as they track down Hit Girl's latest sworn enemy. Further backstory on the events leading up to this story is available in_ **Chapter 243: Urban Predator** _of_ **Forsaken** _._

 _As I often do, I will be scattering movie references throughout the story, either just small quotes, or entire reworked scenes – hope you can spot them! As usual, I look forward, with some trepidation, to any reviews. I promise to accept all criticism. In addition, I am still British so my spelling and grammar may look and appear strange to some._

 _A sneak-preview of the story is available in_ **Chapter 257: Advance Preview** _of_ **Forsaken** _._

...+...

 _Experience 30+ chapters of non-stop Fusion fun, Hit Girl fury and Kick-Ass action as Fusion travel to the UK where the situation quickly escalates and then after a member of their team is kidnapped, they travel to continental Europe where they meet new vigilantes and tour (actually, fight across) Europe, beginning with France._

 _They race to recover their kidnapped colleague, before it is too late and no limits are set to finding her. The team visit other countries: Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Fusion goes back to sea and reinforcements are required. There is tragedy, there is happiness, there is pleasure, there is revenge and there is closure._

 _Hit Girl, Kick-Ass, and Fusion race to take down the worst criminal scum, as that very same criminal scum try desperately to defend themselves and take down Fusion while keeping the furious and vengeful Hit Girl and her lethal team at arm's length._

...+...

 ** _Synopsis:_** _Stephanie, aka Psyche, was part of a US Government experiment, codenamed Urban Predator. The aim of the experiment was to produce assassins and educate them from a very young age. The American arm of the experiment was compromised and ultimately abandoned, leaving the last two victims alone to deal with their altered minds. One of the victims was Miranda Swedlow, aka Night-Bitch, aka Aurora. She knew that only one person could help her and that person was Dave Lizewski, aka Kick-Ass. On hearing about Stephanie and her lost childhood, Mindy Lizewski, aka Hit Girl, began another crusade, this time, to destroy those responsible for destroying yet another young girl's childhood._

* * *

 ** _April 5th 2016  
Tuesday night_**

 ** _A little over 3,665 miles to the east_**

The man fell to the ground, the Glasgow Kiss rendering him unconscious.

His assailant turned at a noise behind him. The man was a hardened member of one of the city's organised crime gangs, so he was not scared; he could handle anything that the East End of Scotland's largest city could offer – or so he thought; there were new challenges about town.

"Yer fucking scabby scrote!" A strange voice growled which made the man feel wary and he stepped back as a large indiscernible form appeared out of the darkness.

"You got the fucking jessie, Drift?" Another voice called out.

Both voices were electronically enhanced to hide their real voices and they sounded quite menacing in the darkness.

"Aye, Crimson – the cunt is dead, or he soon will be..."

..._...

As the one referred to as Crimson passed beneath a streetlight, the man felt a new fear course through his body. The fearsome looking form was dressed from head to toe in a crimson-coloured armoured suit. Around the waist, the man could see various lethal weapons, which included a pistol and some blades for good measure. That the vigilante was female, was pretty obvious thanks to the good-sized chest.

The other one, Drift – he was seen to be clad in a dark blue armoured suit that covered him from head to toe just like his female colleague. He advanced on the man, pulling out a large Bowie Knife which had a wicked looking, black blade. The man backed up against the wall behind him, wishing he could push through the brickwork and escape. The dark form came closer, the blade ominous and deadly in the glow from the streetlight.

"I need information and I'm going to get it – one way or another..."

The man began to scream.

* * *

 ** _Four days later  
April 9th 2016  
Saturday_**

 ** _Vengeance Command Centre  
Location: _CLASSIFIED**

The Italian Racing Red Jaguar F-Type R AWD Coupe roared up the narrow access road at speed, taking the final curve at 50mph before the carbon-ceramic brakes brought the supercharged 186- mile-per-hour beauty to a tyre screeching halt.

Natasha King jumped out of the right-hand-side of the car and she jogged up the steps to the front door which clicked open automatically before she could reach for the recessed number pad to the right of the door frame. In the reception hall she took the second left through a door and then turned immediately right, this time entering an eight-digit code before the door released. She then turned to the left and walked down the steps to the lower ground floor of the mansion.

At the base of the stairs she turned right and walked towards a door that was again secured by a number pad. Another eight-digits later and she stood in the _Vengeance_ Control Room. On the wall were three large 65-inch flat panels arranged horizontally. To the left was a large control station with a tall youthful looking man sitting in front of a pair of 27-inch touch screens that were lying before him at a shallow angle. As the guy ran his fingers over the screens, information on the larger flat-screens changed at lightning speed.

..._...

"Hi, Eric – I got here as fast as I could..."

"How many tickets today, Nats?" Eric chuckled.

"None, thank you very much – I never get caught!"

Eric turned to face Natasha and winked.

"You been flashing your tits to the traffic cops again?"

Natasha coloured slightly before scowling.

"Very funny!" She growled as she gave Eric a friendly slap on the shoulder.

Eric tapped a few times on one of his screens and a face appeared on the left-hand big screen.

"Alexander Cartwright. You fought his men the other day – just got facial recognition on him and cross-referenced it with Fox and Marty. Turns out the guy is on Mindy's watch list – or should that be _hit_ list!"

"Very droll, Eric – good work! You sent it to Mindy?"

"Yeah, Marty got it a few minutes ago... Ah – perfect timing!"

Eric tapped again on his screens and the centre large panel changed into a video-conferencing window and a very familiar face appeared from a few thousand miles away. I checked the clock – it was just before two-thirty in the afternoon in the UK.

"Good morning, Mindy!" I said with a grin as I saw my American friend chewing on a bacon sandwich.

"Afternoon for you, isn't it, Nats – how you all doing? Hi, Eric!"

"Fine thanks, Mindy," I replied as Eric waved cheerfully.

..._...

After a brief chat, Mindy went serious.

"I can't go into detail, but that bastard is dangerous, right up there with Frank D'Amico! I need to brief you _in person_ – too many electronic ears, especially on my side of the pond, if you get my drift. I'm coming to see you, with ten others. I'll have my guy co-ordinate with your guy about the travel arrangements and a date for our arrival."

"Will the twins be coming?" I asked excitedly. "It'd be _so_ great to see you all!

"Yes, they're coming... Their big sister, too."

"What about Abigail?" Eric enquired.

"Oh, yes," Mindy laughed and then she grinned fiendishly. "You will be able to finally meet her in person – better get the condoms ready!"

"Evil bitch!" Eric muttered as he coloured slightly and vanished out of the sight of the camera.

We both laughed at his obvious discomfort – the two of them, Eric and Abby, had been in an electronic relationship for months.

* * *

 ** _Later that afternoon_**

 ** _Southfield, a few miles outside of Falkirk, Scotland_**

The F-Type R Coupe skidded to a halt on the loose gravel a few yards away from the Carpathian Grey Overfinch Range Rover.

Natasha dived out of her car and barged through the front door yelling for her brother.

"Cam!"

"Hello, my dear sister," Cameron King replied with a grin. "I heard you as you pulled up outside; got any brakes left?"

"Don't you start, arse! Anyway, I just spoke with Mindy – they're coming over, _all_ of them!"

"That should be fun – anything to do with that guy we fought?"

"Yeah – Mindy wants him..."

"Oh dear, he's a dead man walking, then!"

"With Mindy after him, yeah!"

* * *

 ** _That same time_**

 ** _Chicago, USA  
Safehouse F_**

"You two go and play while Mommy works..."

Anne-Marie rolled her eyes, but the twins vanished up the stairs, under the watchful eye of their elder sister. I headed for the Command Centre where Marty and Abby were waiting for me.

"So, mighty leader, what devious plan have you concocted?" Marty asked.

I laughed as I sat down on a swivel chair and faced my geeks in residence.

"Well, Eric wants to fuck Abby – other than that, we have some packing to do..."

Abby's face exploded and she giggled! Everybody knew about her fascination with Eric, but now she was going to be able to meet him in the flesh, so to speak. I also knew that Abby was very keen to get Eric into bed...

"Can you two get a list together of what we need to pack and then co-ordinate with Fox for anything we are missing, plus see if we can get a cargo aircraft from Wayne Enterprises too. I need to go see if those new suits fit my three terrors!"

* * *

I had not wanted to involve them, despite them now being fully aware of what their parents and their friends did after dark.

However, I knew that just like Megan and Curtis, they would eventually end up in harm's way. Since January, I had been training them both – extending what they had already learnt at D-JAK and showing them how to adjust their knowledge for combat. Reluctantly, I had also trained them both in firearms and the use of bladed weapons.

They _had_ to be able to defend themselves and despite my reservations, I could _not_ just swan off to Europe and _not_ take my kids with me. I just hoped that the rest of the new equipment would arrive in time. We could not fight in Europe in our usual equipment, so I had ordered some new combat suits for all.

They would be plain and unembellished, but fully functional to protect the team. It would also add some anonymity to our operations – Europe had way too many cameras and other monitoring systems and I did not want everybody identifying us as _Fusion_ , at least not immediately – us being away from Chicago would be dangerous enough for those we left behind.

..._...

As I climbed the steel steps to the walkway above, I heard the three kids laughing at something. I found them in the Galley talking to Josh and Chloe; Josh was always good for a laugh!

"Right, you three – let's try on your new suits..."

"Yeah!" The twins yelled, jumping up.

"New suit – but I have a suit?" Stephanie queried.

"You do, but we are going on a trip and where we are going, we will need slimmer combat suits and ones with less embellishments."

"Less embellishments?"

"You're gonna lose your cape for starters and your colours will be dulled down."

I received some grumbling from Psyche, but nothing more as the four of us headed to my bedroom.

* * *

The replacement combat suits were all very similar and they would cover each vigilante from head to toe. Each mask, with inbuilt communications, could also be used independently from the suit, which would also be a bonus. The suit was slim enough to be worn under a pair of loose pants and a jacket, too.

Their biggest advantage was that they were light and compact, but providing the same level of protection as our regular suits. They could also be stowed in less space, which would be a key requirement for the intended operation. There were no unique embellishments that usually adorned each vigilante's combat suit. The only unique item for each suit were the coloured markings on the right upper arm and the left thigh of each suit. On the left chest of each suit was a symbol in light grey and black on a purple background.

The symbol was made up of a shield in four sections with the symbol for an atom in the centre. The hilt of a sword rose out from the top left and top right of the shield.

..._...

I ordered the kids to strip and each then pulled on their own custom, dark grey, two-piece suit which consisted of a zip-up jacket and some pants.

For the two younger kids, it was basic Level IIA protection, although both had a full-face mask and communications. Rogue had ochre markings on her suit, while Ravage bore dark grey markings, superimposed on light grey. Both suits had a utility belt for the communications, a knife and a holster for a small pistol, plus spare ammunition.

As she was bigger, Psyche's suit had heavier armour and her utility belt had extra fittings. She also had slots for her Sai's on her thighs. The same markings, two inverted 'V' shapes, on her right upper arm and left thigh were sky-blue.

"Nice!" Psyche commented. "So where are going – anywhere I know?"

"Maybe..." I replied with a grin.

* * *

 _This storyline continues two days later in_ **Chapter 266: Storm Clouds Building – Part II** _of_ **Forsaken** _._


	2. Crossing The Pond

_This is the continuation of the storyline from_ **Chapter 266: Storm Clouds Building – Part II** _of_ **Forsaken** _._

* * *

 ** _April 16th 2016  
Saturday_**

 ** _Scotland_**

The Wayne Enterprises CN-235 transport aircraft touched down at Edinburgh Airport shortly after seven that evening.

Almost immediately, it taxied over to an isolated corner of the airport where it was met by two armoured Range Rovers and a pair of Iveco EuroCargo 4x4 fifteen-tonne curtain-sided trucks. Four fully loaded HCU-6/E cargo pallets were offloaded from the aircraft by forklift truck and carefully deposited on the back of the two trucks, two per vehicle. All movements were carefully monitored by the occupants of the Range Rovers, without alighting.

Once loaded and secured, the two trucks moved off in convoy, with a Range Rover taking up position in front and another behind. They headed out onto the A8 and then onto the M9 motorway, heading south to a secret destination.

..._...

Forty-five minutes later, the convoy drove around the back of a large mansion and then directly into an enclosed yard where they were quickly unloaded into a building. No unnecessary noise or light was emitted until the job was completed.

Edinburgh Airport had seen three Wayne Enterprises aircraft transiting the airport over the space of two days – way more than usual. The first two flights had been a pair of Gulfstream G450 business jets landing an hour apart. Their flight plans showed that they had departed Gotham City International with a short layover in Chicago before flying onto Scotland.

Only eleven people had travelled aboard the two aircraft, five on the first and six on the second, which indicated a somewhat heavy cargo load on each aircraft.

* * *

 ** _Later that night_**

 ** _Glasgow_**

The four Superbikes accelerated through the night zipping past the other road users.

Due to the late hour there was very little traffic. Of the four high-powered machines, it was the all-purple Ducati Superbike 1299 Panigale S that seemed to attract the most attention. Riding to the left of and slightly behind the purple Panigale was an all-black Honda Fireblade SP CBR1000RR. To the right of the Panigale and slightly behind was another very similar Superbike 959 Panigale in dark blue. Behind those machines was a fourth, that one a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R ABS in a tan colour scheme.

..._...

The four motorcycles took the ramp that led from the M80 onto the M8 at almost seventy miles-per-hour, heeling over as they each negotiated the tight turn, before they accelerated into the City of Glasgow and through the underpass at Charing Cross; their engines roared and echoed in the enclosed space before the four motorcycles sped onto the Kingston Bridge. They took the first exit, peeling off to the left, one after the other. Surprisingly they had not attracted any official attention – such as the unwanted attention of the Police.

They caught a green light at the base of the ramp and after a turn to the left they went straight before they slowed to take in the scene before them. The four riders had stopped only a few yards from the south bank of the River Clyde. On the north bank there was a fight underway between two armour-clad vigilantes and half a dozen or so large men.

..._...

"You two having fun?" The black clad rider with purple markings astride the purple Panigale called over her communications system.

"About damn time you fucking lazy gits arrived!" Came the accented reply in our ears.

* * *

The bridge was intriguing – the strange arrangement of the supports was very different to what I was used to but it worked for me.

One hundred yards away to the north, I could see the two armoured vigilantes as they laid into the half a dozen or so men – I had to admit that the fight seemed a _little_ one-sided, so we took our time walking over the bridge. Did I say 'one-sided'? I meant that the fight was fairly evenly matched!

It was a different style of fighting to what we were used to – in Chicago, it was a free for all with guns, rockets and bombs. In the UK, fighting seemed almost civilised, _don't you know!_ It was time to add some American charm to the night's entertainment.

That was when we were blindsided...

..._...

 _Fusion_ , blindsided?

Hey, first night in a new city – a different country and a different continent, too – give us a damn break... We heard engines revving behind us and saw three cars and a van pull up – an even dozen men appeared, no, I tell a lie – nine men and three women.

"Shadow, Petra, Jackal – take the cunts to the south; I'm gonna go assist my pals..."

With that, I ran over the bridge and elbowed the first man in the face – he was bald and carried what looked suspiciously like a four-foot long fence post! He drove his right fist towards my side but I flipped backwards and the idiot lost his footing and fell over the side into the water.

The cunt could swim – that sucked...

* * *

As Hit Girl vanished across the bridge, we faced off against the new opposition.

"Who's first?" Jackal snarled.

I eyed one of the bitches as Shadow eyed up another – the bitches were ours! They were large and muscular – was that normal for Scottish women? They definitely had attitude...

"Hey, yer fuckin' pussy – looking for a piece of this?"

"Just a piece – which piece did you have in mind?" I growled, reaching over my left shoulder and seizing the complete Katana/Saya combination with my left hand.

We were in a different city, with different rules – Mindy had warned us against indiscriminate killing. The Saya was as much a part of the Katana as the blade – it could be just as lethal and fighters were taught to use the Katana and the Saya in a partnership. The woman before me never flinched...

I was aware of Shadow diving for another equally brave woman as Jackal attacked the men.

..._...

The woman was taller than me and about twice as wide, but she could move and she used that in a positive way for her. I kicked out, shoving the woman backwards and I planted the Saya hard in to her right side and she yelled out, but I had _not_ slowed her down.

I would have to be creative – I could do that – I remembered some of Tommy's teachings; fight dirty... Almost immediately, I found that I was onto something as I was able to duck and swipe, using my Saya as a club. I had to be careful as every now and then a man would attack me and I would have to defend myself from two different directions – not much of a challenge for a seasoned fighter like Petra, you would think.

It was a challenge, but I knew that I could cope, despite the different kind of fighting and I was a very fast learner.

* * *

"Fucking junkie, bastard!" Crimson growled.

"Come on yer fuckin' wee _vagilante_ twat!"

"Get to fuck!"

Crimson struck out with her fist, catching the man in the face. The man drove his massive fist back in return, but Crimson twisted out of the way, sending her own fist into the man's kidney; he bellowed out in agony.

"I'll fuckin' turn you into a steak bake for that, you red twat."

"That's _Crimson_ to you, yer fucking sheep shagger!"

"When I'm done with you, I'll be pounding yer fuckin' fanny; bet its tight as a Jaffa cake..."

"That dinna make sense!" Crimson growled as she drove the end of her bō-staff into the man's crotch which, not surprisingly, resulted in a burst of crimson blood staining the man's trousers.

* * *

"Colourful language, these fuckers have!"

"Aye, Hit Girl – that be Glasgow!" Drift growled as he kicked the legs out from under another cunt.

I dodged yet another fence post as it came flying towards my head and I rammed a fist into the man's gut.

"Yer fuckin' cunts; yer like a fuckin' turd that won't fuckin' flush – why don't ya stay the fuck _down_!" The large man growled after knocking Drift off his feet for the third time.

I ran forwards and dived beneath the fence post, and I drove a short blade into the man's thigh.

"Yer fuckin' purple scab; yer need a ruddy great shaftin'," the man laughed. "I'll shove this wee post here right up yer tight..."

I had no desire to find out _where_ he wanted to shove the post – although I had a shrewd idea – so I kicked him hard between the legs and doubled him over. That gave me the opportunity to seize the four-inch to a side, square post and take it across the back of his head with a satisfying thump.

He went down hard and he was quickly joined by his post.

* * *

I breathed out – relief obvious.

They were all done; our side was clear.

"Ready for some more?" Hit Girl enquired as she turned towards the far side of the bridge.

"You guys can't hack it?" I grinned. "Ow!"

Hit Girl had punched me on the shoulder and it had damn well hurt!

"Don't go soft on me, Crimson!" Hit Girl laughed.

..._...

It was all but over as we arrived on the south bank of the River Clyde. Petra, Jackal and Shadow appeared to have everything under control. I could see eight prone forms on the ground who were rapidly joined by four more.

"No more?" Jackal enquired enthusiastically.

"Wait until the pubs turn out, then you'll have plenty..." My dorky brother advised.

Jackal was breathing heavily, but he just laughed.

"Let's get these lightweight Yanks home to bed," he chuckled.

"Lightweight?" Shadow demanded.

"You know what I mean, my love..."

* * *

"What the ruddy hell?"

The call had been for a disturbance near the Tradeston Bridge that had then been upgraded to a fight. On arriving at the scene, the two Police Scotland Officers climbed out of their BMW 5-series saloon and studied the scene before them that was bathed in the blue illumination from their strobe lights.

On their side of the Bridge – the north – there were eight men, some groaning, the others out cold. All were alive, but injured – another struggled to climb out of the not so warm waters of the River Clyde.

"Help!"

The Officers looked up and saw movement on the other side of the hundred-metre long bridge. As another vehicle arrived, blue lights flashing, they both walked over the bridge to find a further twelve injured people.

"Hey – it's Jessica and her boyfriend, Damien – they've got warrants out!"

"Fuck off, pigs!" Jessica moaned.

* * *

 ** _Much later that night_**

 ** _Vengeance Command Centre  
Location: Ashley House_**

"They're back!"

Anne-Marie jumped backwards as the garage door slid open noiselessly and the rain hammered down outside. Six motorcycles rode past the two parked trucks, entered and quickly braked to a crawl before edging forwards slowly into their allocated parking slots. The door slid closed behind them, just as noiselessly, and only when fully closed did the overhead lighting snap on.

All six riders removed their helmets and masks before smiling at each other and then they dismounted their machines. Anne-Marie ran forward, took Hit Girl's helmet from her and led the way into the armoury. Weapons were passed to Cassie and Dave who placed them into the relevant slot in the rack. Everybody then moved upstairs to remove and stow their combat suits.

"Natasha!" Anne-Marie squealed as she finally got a chance to hug her friend.

"Hi!" Natasha replied happily. "You've grown, I'm sure of it!"

Anne-Marie blushed a little as she helped put the equipment away.

"She's been desperate to see you both ever since she arrived!" Cassie laughed. "She's so cute when she gets anxious too..."

"I know!" Mindy laughed as she hugged her eight-year-old daughter.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, everybody was in the capacious kitchen/family room, where they enjoyed some hot chocolate.

"Hey!" Mindy complained. "Where the fuck are the marshmallows?"

"Sorry!" Cameron laughed as he dug a large bag of miniature marshmallows from a cupboard. "I forgot about you and marshmallows!"

"That could have ended badly!" Dave quipped.

"I see that the two geeks are otherwise occupied..." Chloe commented with a grin.

"They shacked up in the Control Room as soon as Abby arrived... Heard some squealing earlier, but decided _not_ to investigate!" Megan announced with a grimace.

"So _you_ are Mindy's latest acquisition, eh?" Natasha commented as she studied Stephanie.

"I am, and very proud to be keeping the British end up in _Fusion_!" She replied smugly.

"Good for you, Steph – keep it up!" Cameron said encouragingly.

"Okay," Mindy announced. "We start fresh tomorrow; so let's all get some sleep."

..._...

The house was large, but we filled the bedrooms easily.

Mindy and I had the Master Suite at the west end of the house. Chloe and Josh were as far away from us as we could get them, at the opposite end of the house! On one side of Chloe and Josh, was Abby and on the other was Danny. Against our better judgement, we had put Stephanie, Megan and Anne-Marie in a room together. Hailee was next door to us.

Mindy and I had our own bathroom while the others would share a pair of bathrooms and a shower room. Cameron and Natasha had driven home to Falkirk, about twenty minutes' drive away – ten if Natasha was driving! Eric had also driven home to where he lived in Edinburgh; Abby had been very unhappy when he had left...

After calming down the younger girls – Danny had complained about the incessant giggling, I had joined Dave in bed. As I curled up with Dave, I felt a little weird going to sleep in a foreign country again.

We had a lot of work ahead of us, but we would prevail – we had to; we had no choice.

* * *

 ** _Sunday, April 17th 2016  
The following morning_**

I awoke early, as was my custom – especially in a strange place.

Dave was snoring happily, so I left him and went to check on the kids. They looked so sweet when they were asleep – even Megan! It was difficult to see Stephanie and Megan as two hardened killers. Mind you, even the eight-year-old Anne-Marie had blood on her hands...

I left the girls sleeping – I wanted a quiet morning for as long as possible! Danny was awake when I checked in on him and he wriggled out of bed and gave me a hug. Danny was the only person in the house that morning who was still wholly innocent of murder; a disturbing thought!

Nobody else was up, so Danny and I went downstairs and then outside to begin some exercises. After twenty minutes, I heard a drawling voice behind me as I was almost bent double.

"Damn fine sight, first thing in the morning!"

Then, as I stood up, I felt my husband's muscular arms as they wrapped themselves around me and then the roughness of his unshaven chin against my cheek. I went weak at the knees. Danny looked up at us both, a squeamish expression on his face.

"Are you guys about to kiss?"

"Oh, yeah..." We both replied together and I giggled.

"Gross..."

* * *

"Where are Mom and Dad?"

"Kissing..." An appalled sounding Danny replied to his sister's question.

"Gross..."

"That's what I said... Come on, you guys, that's totally gross – we're about to eat!"

Josh smirked and he kissed Chloe even harder; Chloe moaned which just seemed to horrify the twins even more.

"God, that's a horrible sight for first thing in the damn morning!"

"Morning to you too, Steph..." Chloe chuckled as she released her hold on Josh to an audible sigh of relief from Anne-Marie.

"I have to agree with the Brit – it's too early for snogging..."

"You missing my cousin, are you, Megan?"

The eleven-year-old scowled, but I could see from her expression that I was right; she did miss Curtis.

..._...

"It's weird being back here, after so many years – I lost a third of my life, near enough..."

"I know what you mean, Steph – I felt weird when I came back to Britain last year. We Brits need to stick together for mutual support."

Josh pulled Stephanie into a hug and the young girl returned it; she loved hugs despite her being a cold, ruthless, CIA trained, assassin.

"Hey, keep your hands where we can see 'em, Stephanie!" Chloe grinned.

Stephanie's short, but very crude response left Chloe blushing.

"That'll be four pounds!" Dave commented as he came into the kitchen with Mindy.

"What the fuck?"

"Five pounds..."

"You got a travelling swear jar?" Stephanie enquired as she looked around the kitchen.

"No, but it's still valid, my profane mouthed daughter."

"Hang on… You're charging me a quid, every time that I swear?"

"Yeah."

"But, that isn't fair – a quid is almost a buck fifty!"

"The exchange rate sucks!" Mindy laughed.

Stephanie muttered under her breath for a few seconds.

"Shall we just call it quits at a tenner?" Dave queried.

"I'll tell you what I think of the exchange rate _and_ where you can stick your tenner... I'll _kick_ it up your..."

Stephanie was abruptly cut off as Joshua clamped his hand over the almost ten-year-old's mouth to prevent her indebtedness from getting any worse. The girl's mouth was still moving behind Joshua's hand and it was obvious that she was _very_ angry.

..._...

Breakfast was fun.

We were all able to chat freely about the previous night and just to be normal – well normal for us all anyway! Midway through breakfast, our hosts arrived.

"Hi, guys!" Natasha called out as she arrived in the kitchen.

"Hi, Abby..." Eric grinned at Abby who went pink and she looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"You all slept well, I hope?" Cameron enquired.

"We did, thank you," Dave replied for everyone.

"Is it true that you guys captured Shadow and held her?" Anne -Marie asked.

I saw Chloe look uncomfortable and blush deeply – it was a part of her life that she was not all that proud of.

"Yes, it is true – it was a bad mistake on our part," Cameron explained. "Although, in hindsight, if we had not taken her, then we might both be dead. Mindy took pity on us – I think she has a soft spot for Brits..."

"Yeah – fucking four of you now..." I groused good-naturedly. "A complete fucking set!"

"She loves us dearly," Joshua teased and he grasped me in a bear hug.

"Put – me – down," I growled as dangerously as I could but Joshua fucking ignored me.

"We love her too," Joshua finished and he gave me a big kiss on the cheek.

"Wow – she's gone purple!" Stephanie laughed.

"Her signature colour," Megan teased.

I was trying to look angry, but I felt embarrassed more than anything else.

"Fuck you all!" I exclaimed as Joshua released me.

"You're so sweet when you pretend to be mad..." Dave said and he hugged me while I sank into his warmth.

"Who's pretending...?"

"Oh no, they're gonna kiss..." Danny whined.

* * *

After breakfast, we all ended up out the front of the large house.

"I'm going for a spin in the Jag!" Mindy announced.

Natasha looked very unhappy with that proclamation, but Mindy hugged her and said that she would treat it tenderly. Natasha was not convinced, but she had followed Mindy outside to where her pride and joy sat.

"You can't even open it; it's locked!" Natasha announced happily.

"Oh!" Mindy exclaimed as she pulled open the driver's door.

"How..." Natasha began, but then she scowled as she checked her pockets. "The bitch felt me up and pinched my key!"

Megan laughed as the engine of the Jaguar F-Type rumbled into life.

"Back soon!" Mindy yelled as she put her foot down and the Jaguar fish-tailed for a moment before it headed down the drive at speed.

"Bet you twenty-quid she gets a speeding ticket within twenty minutes, Dave!" Cameron laughed.

"Make it thirty on fifteen!" I challenged.

* * *

The Jaguar was _very_ responsive!

After leaving the mansion, I soon found myself on the M8 motorway, heading west in the outside lane. I was unable to resist the temptation and I planted the accelerator firmly to the floor and I soon found myself exceeding one hundred miles-per-hour. I rapidly reduced speed and kept to around eighty. I had only been going about ten minutes when I took a glance in the rear view mirror . . . and groaned.

A few hundred yards behind me, and closing fast, was a silver Audi A6 Avant – nothing out of the ordinary, only that particular Audi was equipped with non-standard blue strobe lights flashing on the roof and in the front grille, not to mention the wig-wag headlights. I could also hear the siren as the car pulled in behind me and flashed its headlights; I was busted!

..._...

I slowed and pulled over onto the shoulder, then cut the engine once I was stopped. I immediately began running scenarios through my mind and producing options. The Audi had pulled in smoothly behind me and stopped a few yards back. A tall Police Officer had climbed out of the passenger side of the Audi and walked down the shoulder; he opened the passenger door and crouched down to peer inside the car.

"Good morning, ma'am – were you aware that you were going a _little_ fast back there?"

I blushed!

"Yeah, sorry!"

"An American?" The Officer commented the moment he heard me speak. "May I see your Driver's Licence, please?"

I pulled out the UK licence that I had been provided with on my _previous_ visit to the UK – it still showed me as Mindy Macready, but never mind. I handed it over and the Police Officer studied it for a moment before there was an urgent beeping from the Audi's horn and I could see the driver waving frantically to attract his colleague's attention.

I watched as the Police Officer walked back down the shoulder and climbed back into the Audi. There was a rapid verbal exchange between the two Officers and then the driver was on his phone. They both seemed very unhappy about something and I contemplated flooring it and running. Then, to my surprise the Police Officer returned, this time all smiles and he returned my licence.

"Have a nice day, Mrs Lizewski – you need to get your licence updated with your married name and in future, please obey the speed limits where possible. Good morning."

With that the man returned to his car and the Audi departed with both Officers giving me a genuinely friendly smile and a wave! Three words came to mind immediately.

What the fuck?

* * *

I decided that it would be a good idea to head back to base!

As I pulled up, Dave and Cameron appeared from around the side of the house, with Natasha trailing behind.

"You get pulled?" Cameron asked the moment I opened the door.

"Yeah..." I replied dejectedly.

"Less than fifteen minutes after you left?" Dave asked hopefully.

"Yeah, why?"

"Hah!" Dave exclaimed as he held out his hand to an unhappy Cameron who rather dejectedly pulled out his wallet.

"You bet on me getting pulled by the Police?" I demanded incredulously.

"Easy money!" Dave laughed and I just scowled.

* * *

"Let's keep it moving..."

I glared at Hailee; she could be a real bitch! We had been training on the west lawn for over an hour and I was getting _really_ hungry. By the expressions on the other faces, so was everybody else. I may only have been eleven-years-old, but I was Wildcat and I enjoyed training as much as the next vigilante – but Hailee tended to push things just a little bit.

There was only one person who actually enjoyed the abuse – guess who?

"Get with it, little kitty – you need the exercise..."

"Mindy – you're a bitch!" I laughed.

"So is Hailee – cool huh?"

"No, Mindy – she is _not_ cool..."

* * *

 ** _Twenty minutes later_**

"Come on, Chloe, banging your boyfriend every night does _not_ qualify as 'training'!" Stephanie laughed, using her fingers to accentuate the final word.

Chloe scowled and Hailee decided that everybody was losing attention so we headed inside for lunch. What annoyed me the most was that Dave and Josh were both handing Hailee ten pounds each.

"Would you two care to explain?" I demanded.

"Not really," Dave replied innocently.

"We bet Hailee that she couldn't run you guys into the ground..." Josh laughed.

"Worked like a dream!" Dave added with a chuckle.

"I hate you both, _so_ much..."

What was it? Fuck around with Mindy day?


	3. The Blooding of Nemesis

**_Scotland_**

Neither Cassandra, nor her alter ego, Nemesis, had seen much in the way of any _actual_ action.

After her initial training in Chicago, she had returned to Scotland and once there, she had put what she had learnt into more training under the tutelage of the twins. The nineteen-year-old had spent many hours sparring with Cameron and Natasha; the young woman was determined to be the best that she could be, and she often pushed both herself and her body to the absolute limit.

Due to this audacious behaviour, Natasha would often need to cut short a training session so that her friend could rest.

* * *

There was much more to Cassie than met the eye.

The young woman could drive and she had been able to since she was seventeen. For the past couple of years, she had been riding a moped so the upgrade to a real motorcycle had not been too much of a stretch. Much to her mother's annoyance, Cassie had decided to ride a motorcycle for short trips, instead of using her Ford Focus – she had selected a pacific blue Triumph Scrambler.

She and Natasha had become fast friends almost as soon as they had met and both girls enjoyed winding up the two boys. At first, Cassie had been unsure about becoming a vigilante, but with the backing of her parents she had quickly become the third member of the then fledgling _Vengeance_ organisation.

..._...

 _Vengeance_ as an organisation had come into being in mid-December of 2015, mainly as just a name. Cameron and Natasha had met with a man from MI5, who had helped procure a secure headquarters and he had then provided support to equip it. Their activities were not officially sanctioned, but neither were they officially prevented. Eric had come aboard as a direct recommendation from MI5. He was a teenage boy who had been in trouble, almost since the day he had learnt to type.

Eric was a former black-hat hacker, turned white-hat, and he was on probation for various IT-related crimes and as a result, he had jumped at the chance to join _Vengeance_ as our technical support. He was a very hard worker and he often spent many hours on calls to the USA, both to Abby and Marty, as well as to the mysterious Lucius Fox.

There had been plenty to setup and everything had come together remarkably fast.

* * *

 ** _Sunday, April 17th 2016  
That night_**

Now, though, _Vengeance_ had the direct support of Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, along with their entire _Fusion_ organisation.

We had a big mission planned that night, which would involve the entire combined team. Therefore, with the assistance of the younger members of Fusion, we all geared up. The advance team, consisting of Petra, Wildcat, Psyche and Drift, had left soon after seven that evening while the remainder had begun to deploy an hour later.

The advance team had taken _Scimitar_. The dark grey, armoured 4x4 Range Rover Sentinel, known as _Scimitar_ , was powered by a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine, and was one of two that _Vengeance_ had at their disposal – the other, identical, 4x4 was known as _Sabre_.

An hour later, _Sabre_ departed in the wake of _Scimitar_ , heading west for Glasgow.

* * *

 ** _Several miles northeast of Glasgow_**

We joined up with the advance team, where they lay hidden as they studied our target for the night.

I quietly lay down between Psyche and Wildcat.

"What you got, girls?"

"Nice of you to join us, Hit Girl!" Wildcat commented dryly.

"The Main Act always arrives after the much less capable Opening Act," I replied smoothly.

"Good one," Crimson laughed.

"Is he there?" I asked, keeping on track.

My younger sister rolled onto her back and sat up to face me.

"Cartwright is there – he arrived a few minutes after we were in position..."

"He has quite the entourage, too..." My daughter added as she continued to stare through a night scope.

"How many?" Kick-Ass enquired.

"Not many – about fifteen..."

I smiled at that comment – nothing phased Psyche! But then we were eight... Other than Petra, Wildcat, Psyche and Drift, we had myself, Kick-Ass, Crimson and Nemesis.

We had an appointment with Alexander Cartwright – one that he was neither expecting, nor would he be enjoying, or for that matter, surviving...

..._...

"Oh, crap!"

"What has our dear little kitty found?" Petra enquired in a sarcastic tone.

Wildcat ignored the good-natured snipe and continued with her sighting report.

"We have three more vehicles approaching – looks like they shop at the same place _Vengeance_ does!"

I pulled a night scope from my belt and scanned the area where Wildcat was looking. There were indeed, three Range Rover Sentinels making their way up the potholed access road. They joined the four, more lightly armoured, Mitsubishi Shogun SUVs already parked outside the building.

"Okay – four men from the first, four from the third – two from the second, plus two suits..."

"Another ten security personnel – that makes twenty-five, plus the two suits and Cartwright," I summed up.

"Eight against twenty-seven – hardly seems fair..." Psyche commented, "…for them."

I chuckled.

"Command, this is Hit Girl – you updated the picture?"

* * *

 ** _Vengeance Command Centre_**

"That's affirmative, Hit Girl – we have overhead imagery..." Q acknowledged as Hal updated the electronic status board.

On the main screen before them was a split-screen image showing a 4K-resolution, full colour image and a lesser-resolution, infra-red image. Each image was labelled with its provider: _EAGLE-1_ and _EAGLE-2._ It was easy to pick out the eight members of the joint assault team, not to mention the white hot engines of _Scimitar_ and _Sabre_.

The two $3million ScanEagle X200 UAVs had been launched three hours earlier and they were each controlled by the _Vengeance_ computer system. Each drone, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, had a wingspan of just over three metres and weighed 22kg. The aircraft flew at a speed of around 60 knots and could stay aloft for over twenty-four hours, powered by its single 1.5-horsepower engine.

The mission was also a test for the new capability provided by the UAVs for both _Vengeance_ and _Fusion_.

* * *

 ** _Several miles northeast of Glasgow_**

We were not far from a small town, so the use of heavy weapons was not allowed – we would operate the old fashioned way.

Despite operating outside the law as vigilantes, we had certain rules to follow if we wanted to be able to operate within the borders of the United Kingdom with impunity. We were all equipped with our new combat suits and the attack would be a good test for them all, apart from their first outing the other night.

"Team 1, take the west, Team 2, the east – we'll meet up in the middle," I briefed, keeping everything simple. "They seem to have left two men, one from each group to guard the vehicles – Wildcat, Psyche..."

"They tell me Scotland is quite dangerous after dark..." Psyche growled and I heard Wildcat chuckle.

"We go in thirty seconds – Command, give me overhead infrared."

I checked the four-inch colour widescreen on my left forearm and saw an image appear showing the false colours of the infrared display from over a kilometre above us.

"Psyche, Wildcat – take 'em down!" I ordered, beginning the night's action.

..._...

I watched the screen and saw the two thermal blooms on the image moving slowly together, but then separating with one heading for each vehicle guard. The image was marked with a sky blue marker for the right thermal bloom, which was Psyche and a brown marker for the other thermal bloom – Wildcat. Six other, differently coloured markers existed, none moving – near the markers for _Sabre_ and _Scimitar_.

As I watched, the thermal blooms merged and then the camera zoomed in to show that two of the thermal blooms were no longer moving and they were elongated as if they were lying down. They _were_ lying down, permanently.

"Psyche, cunt down!" Came the cold and insular response – the girl was _all_ business.

"Wildcat – fucker got blood on my new suit!" _Her_ responses were getting colder too.

..._...

I ran forward, with Kick-Ass beside me and we collected Psyche and Wildcat before heading towards the west end of the building. Team 2, which consisted of Petra, Drift, Crimson and Nemesis, headed for the east end of the building. It was like a family night out – I had my husband, daughter and sister with me; how much better could it get!

Drawing both Katana swords from the mounts on my back, I led the advance towards the end of the building. There was a steel fire escape there and it rose the four stories of the building. We had seen the men in the windows of the third floor, but that had only been in passing, so they could be anywhere.

As we understood it, the building was all but abandoned and there would be no innocents expected.

* * *

 ** _East End_**

I had butterflies!

It was my first mission and it was going to be the first time that I might be expected to kill... I gripped my Katana and I nervously peered over at Drift. He held his twin Ninja-To blades ready as we approached the door to the west end of the building. Crimson rested a hand on my arm to reassure me as she held her bō-staff ready.

The door was forced open by Petra, with a little help from a lightweight crowbar. The inside of the building was dark, however, there was some light visible a short distance away and we could also make out some shadows moving in that distant light...

"Lead the way, Nemesis..." Petra ordered with a nod of her head.

 _Me!_

"Okay..."

* * *

I followed Nemesis.

Keeping close to support her as we went, I knew exactly how she was feeling; that first trip out ripped your nerves apart. Mind you, on my first night out, I had been alone... The shadows were getting closer and as we approached, I readied my combat Katanas.

The place was a mess inside, and as such, we had to be very careful not to kick anything accidentally and therefore make a noise. Speaking of noise... I could hear men talking – must have been some of the watchdogs. How many were there? At least two, obviously – but there was also a definite third voice.

"I think three – be careful..." I radioed and I saw Nemesis nod in response.

She stopped, just before the end of the corridor and she raised her clenched left fist – _stop!_ Good girl – she was doing very well; I was very impressed. As I watched, she pulled out a small mirror and then angled it so that she could see around the corner – that girl had moves; she was going to make one hell of a good vigilante.

"Confirm, three!" She said quietly.

"Keep it stealthy..." I reminded everyone as Nemesis braced herself ready to move.

* * *

I was very glad to have Petra close behind me.

Her mere presence gave me the confidence that I needed for what I was about to do... I gripped my Katana tightly in both hands and I rose up, keeping to the shadows for as long as possible. I had three targets ahead of me – all large men, all armed and all men who would probably kill with as much emotion as they would show when stomping on an ant.

I was _not_ about to be that ant.

All three of them had their backs to me and they seemed to be deep in conversation – bad tradecraft. I took that advantage and I braced myself to kill a human being for the first time in my life – I would become a killer at nineteen; a bit old compared to most of those in _Fusion_...

 _Here we go..._

I lunged forwards and I executed a stabbing movement, with my blade horizontal and I drove it through the stomach of the middle man. I twisted the blade for good measure and then I withdrew it in a single, swift, smooth movement. The man on the right, he was the first to cotton onto his colleague dropping to the floor; he turned and brought up his SIG Sauer MPX, but I quickly severed both of his hands on the up-swing and then stabbed him through the heart with my Tanto.

I turned to take down the third man, but he was already falling – strangely, his head appeared to hover in the air for a moment, before it followed the rest of his body.

I turned further, to see Petra lowering her swords.

* * *

 ** _West End_**

The men were not as good as I had hoped – maybe Rangers...

I checked out the two bodies that lay before me – SIG weapons, each of them. So far, our entry was unknown to the enemy, however inevitably, the dead would be missed at some stage. It was highly possible that we only had minutes – or maybe just seconds before the proverbial balloon went up. I sent the two short-asses up ahead to scout out for the next watchdogs.

Psyche was surprisingly mature and able when it came to her darker side and all of the usual behaviour that you might expect of a normal nine-year-old girl, it went out the window. She was ruthless and I could rely on her one hundred percent. Even better, her serious no nonsense attitude in the field was rubbing off on her partner, Wildcat – sharpening the older girl's already dangerous skillset.

My sister and daughter were vigilantes from hell!

* * *

Psyche made the 'freeze' signal with her left fist clenched.

Her right hand held one of her two, very sharp Sai weapons. She pointed forwards and then raised her free hand to her ear; she had heard something. I trusted my niece explicitly, especially her instincts when in combat. She may have been two years my junior, but she was many years my senior when it came to experience. It was like having a mini Hit Girl as my partner.

Psyche then pointed towards a doorway and beyond it, I could hear voices and footsteps. The door would open away from us, being pulled open from the other side – whoever opened the door, they would have one hand occupied. I moved to the side of the door, away from the hinges and extended my claws. Psyche kept to the darkness, opposite the doorway – drawing her other Sai. I loved seeing her in action – she was awesome . . . God, I was fangirling over my own goddamn niece!

Focus, Wildcat!

* * *

The door began to move.

The voices became louder as the door was pulled away from me – two voices. As expected, one man was pulling open the door, his weapon slung over his shoulder. He courteously waved his colleague through the door with his other hand – a bad move... I waited two more seconds and then sent both Sai flying through the air.

The men never saw death coming for them out of the darkness. Both Sai flew straight and true, the shafts of each weapon dug deep into each man's heart. They both sank to the ground, very dead. A third man burst out of the doorway, his suppressed SIG Sauer MPX raised and his finger on the trigger. The moment he set foot through the door, Wildcat plunged a set of claws into his neck and he gurgled for a second, then dropped his weapon, before collapsing onto his colleagues.

Wildcat came around to admire her handiwork.

* * *

"Nice, I...!" Wildcat began.

I heard the muted sound of a weapon cycling and I was struck by two rounds. Instinctively, I dropped to one knee and flung my two throwing knives towards the shooter who fell to the corridor floor and the shooting stopped.

"You okay?" I demanded.

"My damn tits again!" Wildcat replied, rubbing her chest.

"Shame Trojan can't help with that – and I damn well ain't!"

"I wish..." Wildcat commented then she added quickly. "Not you, I mean..."

I chuckled, silently thankful that I had no tits to get injured; I was in no hurry to get any, either. I placed a foot on the chest of the first man and heaved out my Sai, cleaned off the shaft, stowed it and I then repeated the operation on the other corpse. Meanwhile, Wildcat cleaned off her claws before retracting them.

"Well done with the knives..." Wildcat commented as I retrieved them from the chest of the final corpse.

"Gotta look after my partner, eh, Wildkitty!"

I received a growl in response but a gentle pat on my shoulder.

* * *

 ** _East End_**

I was emboldened by my first two kills.

I moved up the staircase, my suppressed FN Five-seveN Mk2 pistol raised before me. Behind me came Crimson, an identical pistol held in her own hands. Drift and Petra had our backs on the staircase below us. I moved slowly and carefully and I ensured that my feet were moving quietly but purposely.

At the top of the staircase, I found a door – it was closed. While Crimson covered me, I approached the door and took a moment to listen. I could hear nothing... I gently pulled the door open, bit by bit. Still no sound – with a nod from Petra, I pulled the door open fully and Crimson crept past me and checked each end of the corridor.

"Clear!"

* * *

I followed Crimson as he headed to the left.

Petra and Drift headed to the right. We passed several dark, empty rooms before we reached another doorway; one door was wedged open and beyond it, down another corridor, we could make out a dim light. As we approached, we could see that the dim light was actually spilling out from a door which was slightly ajar, over to the left.

Behind the door were voices – quite a few voices, talking animatedly.

"Found 'em!" Petra radioed. "Second floor – east corridor..."

"Copy that!" Hal responded.

I knelt down beside Crimson and covered the doorway while Petra and Drift cleared the east end of the floor.

* * *

 ** _Vengeance Command Centre_**

"What do ya think, beautiful?"

"I think we have twelve Tangos, _Q_ – keep your hands on that touchscreen and _not_ down there!"

Eric groaned as he keyed his microphone, a big grin on his face.

" _EAGLE-2_ has a dozen heat sources in that room."

"Thanks, Q – I'll let you two get back to . . . whatever!" Hit Girl chuckled.

"Oh, I will..." Eric grinned as he reached for the cute pair of A-cup breasts before him.

* * *

 ** _Several miles northeast of Glasgow_**

We met up with the other team.

We still had some missing Tangos – eleven were down – twelve were in that room – that left four men unaccounted for. Kick-Ass found a window and made his way outside onto a balcony that ran along the front of the building. He would make his grand entrance from there while us mere mortals entered via the door. Psyche was in pole position, her suppressed pistol out. Being the smallest, she would, therefore, be out of our field of fire. Petra and I had our pistols out, suppressors attached, while the others readied their melee weapons.

"Standby – we go on one..." I announced.

* * *

"Three... Two... One..."

As Hit Girl said the final numeral, I threw myself at the window and cannoned through the glazing; glass shards and chunks of wood flew in all directions. A dozen men turned in my direction; three were seated at a table, while the rest were gathered around their bosses. Guns began to appear just as the door burst open and I saw Psyche appear, her pistol up; the muzzle flashed repeatedly as she sent bullets into the men. Behind the younger vigilante, I saw Petra and Hit Girl, their own pistols raised; the muzzles flashed.

The watchdogs were wearing body armour, but Psyche delivered head shots. Two men threw themselves at me and I caught sight of the table being flipped over to protect the three principals. Then there was more trouble as Nemesis reported gunfire, from out in the corridor. Three men were already down and they were joined by a fourth as I smashed his face to pieces with my fist.

Crimson and Drift reported being attacked by machine-gun fire from the west end of the corridor.

* * *

There was total confusion.

Just as the attack had begun on the room – we had come under fire from the opposite end of the corridor. I felt bullets strike my armour and I took cover along with Wildcat. She had her SIG Sauer P250 out and she fired off rounds down the corridor. I joined in with my own FN Five-seveN, but the corridor was in near darkness and it was difficult to identify a target.

I concentrated on the targets and ignored the action going on not too far from me in the room. It was difficult keeping my focus but the adrenalin bursts helped. It surprised me that I was not scared; I was just fighting, getting on with what I was supposed to do.

I was a real vigilante!

* * *

The fuckers must have had an exit strategy worked out – I would have.

The west wall of the room exploded as the entire wall came down allowing the enemy to make their escape. The air was full of the dust generated by the destroyed drywall and it was difficult to see what was going on.

"Break out! Break out!" Kick-Ass yelled.

I returned to the corridor where I saw our targets appear down at the far end. Cartwright was running, with two of his cronies and the two 'suits'. I bolted for the nearest staircase and jumped down several steps at a time. Drift and Crimson bolted down the east fire escape.

We could _not_ let him escape!

* * *

We had three groups of four men at large – plus Cartwright.

One group, with Cartwright, was heading down the fire escape at the west end. Another group was covering their escape. The final group was distracting us with their gunfire. While Crimson, Petra and Wildcat covered our rear, Kick-Ass and I headed down the fire escape. Nemesis, Psyche and Drift were engaging the group that was covering Cartwright's escape.

"I have five fleeing down the west fire escape..." Hal announced.

There was no way that Cartwright could escape the UAVs!

* * *

Psyche was an awesome shot with her pistol!

Two fell to her bullets while Drift dropped the other pair – I only winged one of them before he was taken down by Psyche. Once the four men were down, we ran after our primary target. Psyche stuck her head out the door to the fire escape and a bullet clanged against the steelwork from down below. I pulled the young girl back inside.

"Good way to get your damn head blown off, little lady!"

"Never gonna happen, Nemesis!" Psyche chuckled as she fired off several rounds downwards.

The young girl was extremely brave and she showed courage way beyond her tender age.

* * *

Who were these people and why were they pursuing me?

"I think we're clear, boss..."

The mercenary immediately fell to the ground with a bullet in his head, which aptly proved his comment to be very wrong. I fired off a few bullets in the general direction the shot had come from and ran towards the vehicles. The two CIA men were _not_ happy, but they were professionals and they were armed. I had one mercenary left and I was determined to escape – no matter what.

We reached the armoured vehicles and found two dead bodies – unfortunately, we found no keys! We came under fire almost immediately and we took cover behind the heavily armoured vehicles. I caught sight of our adversaries – I saw people in body armour and of the one I saw, I caught sight of purple markings.

"Who the fuck are they?" I asked my CIA colleagues. "I saw body armour and one had purple flashes."

"Oh fuck!" One growled.

"Explain..." I responded.

"That would be Hit Girl – if _she's_ after you... Dead man walking, my friend!"

* * *

We had the bastard cornered behind the vehicles – there was no escape for him.

The UAV showed us that he had three men with him – only one of whom appeared to be equipped with an automatic weapon. I ordered the team to close on the vehicles from left and right, with Kick-Ass closing off the rear. I made my way directly towards the vehicle they were using as a shield while their heads were kept down by Petra and Nemesis.

"Team in place – go gorgeous!" Kick-Ass growled.

I ran forward and jumped onto the bonnet of the Mitsubishi Shogun and glared down at the four men. One of them made to raise his weapon – his head exploded less than a second later as Kick-Ass came into view, his Glock 17 held out ahead of him. Of the three remaining men, two dropped their pistols and raised their hands – they were the suits.

"We have Diplomatic Immunity – you can't touch us..."

"Out at night – in the darkness – accidents happen..." I growled as I jumped down to the ground and seized both men by their jackets and threw them both against the side of the SUV. "Oops..."

Both men were knocked unconscious as their heads hit the steel bodywork. I turned to the one remaining man who was conscious.

"I need information – give me a name, you fucking cunt!" I growled.

* * *

 ** _Vengeance Command Centre_**

I was shaking.

All the way back I had been silent, as I sat in the back of _Scimitar_. Had I done well? Had I made mistakes? I did not recall making any mistakes, but everything had been so... Had I let anybody down? I felt weird as the adrenalin began to leave my system. Then, with a jolt, I had remembered something...

I had killed another human-being... Three to be exact... Three men were dead, because of me...

I had felt hands grip my own; it was the girls – Wildcat to my left and Psyche to my right. Both looked up at me and while I could not make out their expressions, I knew that they were trying to make me feel better – both girls were no strangers to killing. I had returned the gentle squeeze from each girl and smiled behind my mask.

I was with friends, very good friends.

* * *

It had been a successful night, with all objectives met.

Mindy had her information, and she had crossed somebody off her most wanted list. That was not a list to be on – FBI's most wanted; that was a bad place to be . . . Hit Girl's most wanted; a _very_ bad place to be! I turned to Vengeance's newest member.

"How does it feel?"

Nemesis looked up at me as she sat down and pulled off her mask. Her face was strained, but there was a pleased expression showing.

"I don't know, Nats... I suppose I should feel different; I killed three people tonight..."

"You're staying with me for the night, Cass; the first night after your first kill – it is _not_ fun..."

"I'd follow that advice to the letter, Cassie," Wildcat commented darkly.

"Thanks, Megan," Cassie replied as the eleven-year-old girl, appeared from behind her mask.

She braced up as Hit Girl approached, the underlying blonde girl appeared as she removed her own mask.

"Well done, Nemesis; you did very, very well. I am very pleased to serve alongside you."

"Th... Thanks..." The furiously blushing vigilante responded to grins all around.

* * *

 ** _That same time_**

 ** _24 Grosvenor Square, London W1A 2LQ  
Embassy of the United States, London  
Special Projects Section_**

"What do we know about this _Vengeance_?"

CIA Deputy Director of the Support Directorate, Noah Vossen, almost spat the last word as he paced up and down the capacious conference room on the eighth floor of the northern side of the embassy.

"There appears to be two of them active, however there are believed to be one or two support personnel. The leader appears to be called 'Crimson' with her partner who appears to be called 'Drift'. Neither seem to be squeamish about killing and our intelligence indicates that they were both trained by Hit Girl and Kick-Ass in Chicago..."

"That damn Hit Girl, _again_!" Vossen growled, waving the briefer to continue.

"They are based in Scotland and have not been known to operate away from the Central Belt stretching from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Other names associated with them are 'Q' and 'Nemesis'. Sources tell us that MI5 is unofficially supporting their activity as a deniable action unit."

"We talking Mission Impossible here?" Vossen snorted.

The briefer just shrugged.

"What about their connection with those _Fusion_ nutcases?"

"There seems to be a fairly open connection and _Vengeance_ are known to use very similar equipment, right down to the armoured suits, vehicles and motorcycles."

..._...

"Okay – tell me about _Fusion_..."

"Currently, we have identified sixteen active members with six rumoured and inactive members. The active list reads as follows: 'Hit Girl', 'Kick-Ass', 'Shadow', 'Jackal', 'Battle Guy', 'Hawk', 'Hal', 'Medic', 'Mist', 'Nightmare', 'Petra', 'Psyche', 'Splinter', 'Trojan', 'Wildcat' and 'Eisenhower'. The inactive or rumoured list reads as follows: 'Lynx', 'Ares', 'Athena', 'Neptune', 'Rogue' and 'Nemesis'. There may be more members of _Fusion_ , but we have not been able to associate others with the vigilante organisation as yet. However, there does seem be a credible link to a now dead assassin once referred to as 'The Professional'. _Fusion_ have an unknown, and as far as we are concerned, unnamed, sniper who may be related."

Vossen sat down for a moment and contemplated everything that he had been told.

"You believe that they are active in the UK now?"

"Reports from the Glasgow area, only hours old, tell us that four individuals who appear to behave exactly like _Fusion_ members are operating in the area in partnership with _Vengeance_..."

A man rushed into the room with several pieces of paper in his hand. He handed the items to Vossen's assistant who read through them as the man vanished.

"Two agents have turned up in Scotland, unconscious – they reported to Police that they had been attacked by Hit Girl. Alexander Cartwright is dead – shot by Hit Girl after an extensive and apparently very painful interrogation."

Vossen blanched.

"Things are coming apart – _we must act_ , but without that Landy bitch getting involved. She gets her fucking hands on any _Urban Predator_ documents and she'll fax us into Leavenworth!"


	4. Visiting London

Alexander Cartwright was dead.

We had been able to find out quite a bit about him; he was a British Citizen, and he worked for MI6, however, he had also worked for the CIA – a double-agent if you will. It seemed that his activities with the CIA were known to MI6 too, so yet again, I was being used! I had no complaints; _this_ time I was happy to play assassin for hire – not that I was being paid. Mind you, as far as I could tell, nobody was exactly complaining about the twenty-six deaths and two unconscious CIA Officers a few miles northwest of Scotland's largest city!

A few well-placed blades and he had provided us with some very juicy titbits of information, not to mention some data devices. Abby had worked hours into the night digging through the information and she had sent most of it to Marty for further work. One interesting fact that we _did_ find, was that he was aware of several CIA programmes, one of which he mentioned himself, which had been a big surprise, but a pleasant one. His final words before I was about to kill him:

 _"On this drive is information on a programme called_ Urban Predator _, I don't know much about it, but it goes high up in the echelons of the CIA – MI5 too. If I give you the encryption key, will you let me live?"_

I let him live long enough for us to confirm that the encryption key functioned...

* * *

 ** _Monday, April 18th 2016  
The following morning_**

With the information that we had gained from our recently (and rather violently) deceased friend, we had geared up and very soon we headed south – mind you, from Scotland there were not all that many other options...

Exactly what, we would actually do once we got down to the southwest of England . . . well, I was still planning things as we travelled... It would be a long drive, in convoy, which would give me plenty of time to think and to plan. How much danger lay ahead of us? I had to assume plenty. What danger might I be leading everybody into?

I broke off from my thoughts as I heard a noise and turned to my left where Stephanie was grimacing beside me as I drove the Land Rover Discovery Sport south.

"They're snogging again!" She commented sourly with a sly glance into the middle row of seats, where Joshua and Chloe had been very (and suspiciously) quiet for most of the trip.

"They're young and they're in love!" I chuckled as I watched Joshua seeing how far he could stick his tongue down Chloe's throat.

"What could be so great about gagging on some douchebag's tongue?" Stephanie demanded, echoing my very own sentiments from a couple of years back.

I grinned at my eldest daughter.

"You're only nine..."

"Ten in eight and a half days!" Stephanie pointed out indignantly.

I chuckled.

"Sorry... You're _almost_ ten – but you'll learn..."

"I _do_ know about all that crap – I know where on my body the guy sticks his whatever..."

"Good to know," I replied with a chuckle.

"I _am_ still a virgin, you know!" Stephanie persisted somewhat forcefully and somewhat defensively.

"I never thought otherwise, Steph!"

"I should bloody well think not..."

"Some of us are just a little more dignified and private when it comes to making love..."

" _You!_ "

"Yeah – we keep it private..."

"Like bloody hell, you do!" Stephanie exclaimed. "You and Dave are at it like bloody rabbits! I have _very_ good hearing and the walls at home are _not_ thick... I hear your goddamn screams of ecstasy echoing throughout the house – what Danny and Anne-Marie must think; I have absolutely _no_ idea..."

I felt myself blushing badly and I focussed on the road, not looking at Stephanie.

"That shut you up, didn't it!"

* * *

I ignored Stephanie's gloating and instead, I concentrated on my driving; I enjoyed driving in the UK.

The roads were fun and much more of a challenge than those in Chicago for many reasons – you actually needed the steering wheel for one! Another one were the motorway cops... When I drove in the US and saw a cop in his car, I never felt much guilt – I was Hit Girl! However, in the UK, whenever I saw a fluorescent and blue BMW come up behind me, or when I was forced to overtake a similarly gaudy looking Mitsubishi Shogun at exactly 68 miles per hour, I felt guilty. Watching the speedometer – yes, I knew what one was – constantly as you drove two miles an hour below the speed limit – despite what Dave thought, I _knew_ what a speed limit was too – until the cop car was over the horizon behind you or ahead of you.

All that concentration, well, it was draining and for the entire duration of the event you felt _so_ goddamn guilty, for no good reason! What was it about British motorway cops? They just made me crap myself even though all I may have had was a tail light out!

Mind you – one thing about the British Police that I just _could not_ take seriously, were the cars their local cops used... Who could take a diesel-powered Vauxhall Astra or Ford Focus seriously as it came 'roaring' around the corner?

Mind you, Crown Victoria's were a little bit big for UK roads, but then I always thought that the BMWs and the Audis, plus an occasional Jaguar looked awesome with blue lights and the awesome paint job.

..._...

Then came my next British annoyance – fog!

As we wound our way up and down the M74, winding through the Scottish Borders, we climbed and suddenly I could see nothing; the car a dozen yards in front – it just seemed to be swallowed up by the mists.

"You still there?" I enquired over the radio.

"Quite the pea-souper!" Josh laughed from one of the other Land Rovers.

I began to feel nervous – there could be anything up ahead and I would never know it until I actually hit it. I reduced speed considerably and strained my eyes to see through the thick fog. It was an exhausting five minutes before we finally began to descend and then I could see the other side of the motorway, and then the other cars.

I was relieved to be alive.

* * *

There was another problem too; we seemed to stop every hour, or so it seemed to me!

"Do you all have tiny bladders, or what?" I demanded at the second stop of the morning.

The first stop had been Abington – with only forty miles covered. Then Gretna, fifty miles later. We had not even got out of Scotland!

"Ah, the pleasant aroma of men's' toilets!" Joshua grinned. He had just walked out of the men's toilets and he was in the process of drying his hands off on his jeans.

"Hope you washed those..." Megan growled and she looked disgusted.

"Smell 'em..." Josh suggested and he shoved them into Megan's shocked face before she could recoil away from him.

"He washed them," Megan confirmed somewhat reluctantly with a scowl.

"Why do females all go to the toilets together?" Joshua enquired.

"Pack instinct..." Dave replied. "They like to talk shit..."

"Ignorant gorillas," Chloe commented. "We may talk shit, but you men talk _about_ shit – you just _have_ to compare who took the biggest dump!"

"Well, it's fun to see the plumbing struggle to get it down..." Cameron cut in with a grin.

"Dirty fucker!" Natasha hissed as she slapped her brother who just laughed at his sisters outraged expression.

"Anybody fancy a burger?" Josh asked.

"You only had breakfast an hour ago!" Chloe reminded her boyfriend.

"Your point is...?"

"Men!"

..._...

"What you reading, Mathilda?"

"Guns and Ammo... Pinched it off Stephanie."

"Never mind!"

I had noticed Mathilda getting strange looks from other patrons, not that she was bothered, although what a nine-year-old girl was doing reading that magazine, I had no idea!

"Where are Abby and Eric?" I asked, looking over at Hailee who was working her way through several doughnuts.

"We left them in the car..."

"Glad I'm not riding with you, then... What have you two got there?"

Stephanie and Anne-Marie looked a little guilty, but they showed me what they had bought from the shop. I recognised them straight away.

"Pinky-pie and Twilight Sparkle?"

"You want to make something of it?" Stephanie bristled.

"No," I chuckled and I raised my hands defensively.

..._...

Finally, we all returned to our vehicles – Abby and Eric were pretending to look innocent, of course, but Abby was very pink in the face and her hair was a mess.

I grinned at them both, but said nothing, then I groaned. Joshua, the greedy fuck, was chomping into a Burger King XL Bacon Double Cheeseburger, much to Chloe's obvious disgust!

"Hey, I'm a growing boy!" Joshua mumbled between enormous mouthfuls.

I ignored him and noticed that Danny was hauling a decent supply of candy and soft drinks.

"You get that lot on the seats; you're cleaning them – same if you throw up!" I warned the young boy.

He just smirked and climbed into the seat with his haul. Stephanie had swapped seats with Chloe, so that Chloe was now beside me. Stephanie was seated in the rearmost seats with Anne-Marie while Danny sat with Josh, who was finishing off his burger.

"Greedy git!" Chloe moaned with a grin.

* * *

We had travelled barely ten miles...

"Mommy!"

I recognised the insistent and urgent tone of my youngest daughter; I groaned.

"No – you can wait!"

"I can't; I gotta go..."

"She does," Stephanie confirmed as she laughed. "She's jiggling up and down with her hands between her legs."

"I'm not stopping."

"Mommy!"

"Look, Anne-Marie, you can use my cup," Joshua offered as he turned and held out his now-empty Burger King cup.

Stephanie laughed and I tried, honestly I tried, but I burst out laughing at the appalled look on Anne-Marie's face.

"I'll hold the cup for you, but you get one drop of wee on my hand..." Stephanie grinned.

Anne-Marie scowled.

"Not happening, Stephanie!"

"Cross your legs," I advised.

"I can't; I really need to go or I'm gonna pee myself..."

Fucking hell!

..._...

As soon as possible, I turned off the motorway into Southwaite Services.

"Stop!" Anne-Marie yelled.

I did exactly that and slammed on the brakes in a layby, just within the entrance to the services. Anne-Marie dived out of her seat, crawled over her brother and threw open the back door. The moment the young girl was out of the vehicle, she scurried way from the car before she pulled down her pants and knickers. The poor girl blushed as she peed in full view of us all _and_ the passing traffic. Chloe managed to stop giggling and laughing just long enough to hand the embarrassed eight-year-old some tissues to wipe herself.

"I'm not gonna hear the end of this, am I?" The disgruntled girl grimaced.

The look on her big sister's face spoke volumes in reply to _that_ comment.

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

We finally made it to London with only about two hundred stops!

Anne-Marie had to have the weakest bladder humanly possible, too. We arrived at the house in Mayfair late in the evening. It was a bit of a tight squeeze for eleven people, but we managed it and after some Pizza, everybody went to bed and fell asleep very quickly.

I was the last to go to bed and I happily cuddled into Dave.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, April 19th 2016  
The following morning_**

 ** _Mayfair_**

We were all tired but very relieved to be able to slip into the cool waters of the swimming pool.

I was first up and I was able to float around, sorting out my thoughts. It was about a year ago that I had been blackmailed into coming to London to kill for MI5. It would be nice to have a peaceful visit to London for a change. Maybe...

I screamed as something landed on top of me!

"Morning – Mommy!"

My response was not very 'Mommy' like! But Anne-Marie did not seem to care; she was just happy that she had caught me unawares and she swam around giggling. I was about to chase her when I caught movement out the corner of my left eye and then there was a splash behind me as Stephanie dived into the pool and the girl swept my legs out from under me.

A coordinated attack – very smooth!

I span in the water and tried to grab hold of Stephanie, but she was too fast and there wasn't much to grab hold of anyway. Anne-Marie was now laughing; she seemed to think something was funny! Then everything seemed to explode as there was yet another splash and I was knocked off my feet again – it was Chloe. I was able to grab hold of Chloe and then I threw her across the pool, and narrowly missed Stephanie who scowled at me.

"Hey – not fair – stop using unguided Chloes!"

I laughed at that comment as a not very amused Chloe resurfaced and pushed her hair out of her eyes. Before the teenage girl could properly focus, I dived forwards and took her legs out from under her, plunging her back underwater. I noticed another body join in and then a struggle before we all surfaced again.

"Give them back, you little British fuck!"

..._...

Stephanie was smiling fit to burst and then she giggled before diving away, waving something in the air as she went. The 'something' looked suspiciously like Chloe's bikini bottoms... I turned to look at Chloe who was pink in the face and she looked rather annoyed. I laughed; I tried not to and then I ducked below the water to check – yeah, Chloe was now only wearing one part of her two-piece bikini...

"This is not funny, Stephanie – when I get a hold of you, I'll..."

"Hi, guys!"

It was Dave, Joshua and Cameron.

"Oh fuck . . . no!" Chloe screamed.

"I got Chloe's bikini – well half of it!" Stephanie yelled out from where she stood at the side of the pool, waving the skimpy item of clothing in the air.

I saw smiles appear on Joshua and Cameron's faces before they both jumped in and swam towards an unhappy looking Chloe. Dave followed and swam over to me where he gave me a very nice morning kiss.

"All of you, no going underwater..."

Chloe screamed as Joshua picked her up and threw her through the air. Before she came crashing down, everybody got a good look at the teenager's offerings as she crashed back into the water. The girl seemed more than a little embarrassed when she resurfaced.

"Nice!" Cameron commented as he smiled at Chloe.

"Well, that's the only free look you're getting, cunt!" Chloe growled before turning on Joshua. "You fucking bastard – I will..."

Joshua easily kept himself out of arms reach as Chloe tried to maintain some form of dignity as she chased her boyfriend. Stephanie was dancing around on the side of the pool waving Chloe's bikini bottoms in the air and she laughed at the trouble that she had caused. I swam over to Chloe and whispered into her ear; she smiled at my suggestion. I moved down the pool while Chloe shouted at Joshua, but then she lurched towards Stephanie.

Stephanie realised that she was in trouble and she began to run... But I grabbed her as she ran past me and she screamed as I pulled her into the water. Chloe caught up and after a brief struggle, Chloe triumphantly held two items of clothing in the air. After pulling on her bikini bottoms, she grabbed the now naked Stephanie and completely ignored the foul language and threats as she carried her in full view of everybody down to the far end of the pool and then dumped her on the side.

"What are you doing, Steph?" Danny demanded as he stood beside his very naked big sister.

"Nothing, Danny – just another plan of mine that went very badly wrong!" Stephanie growled as she ignored Chloe's triumphant laughter.

Stephanie went bright red and she ignored the other laughter that came from Megan, Abby, Natasha, Mathilda and Hailee as she walked to where the towels were piled. She also had to endure the jeers of Joshua, Cameron and Eric as she walked past them.

"Payback's a bitch, huh, Steph?" Chloe called out.

Stephanie just smiled sweetly as she wrapped herself in a fluffy towel.

* * *

After breakfast, we opted to go out.

Our first port of call was to be London itself. There was no way that we could travel all the way to the UK and _not_ visit London! Only, this time I hoped for it to be a much more peaceful visit... Cassie and Natasha led the way. The boys stayed at the house and they said that they were going to do their own thing. Danny, Stephanie, Anne-Marie, Abby, Megan, Hailee, Chloe and I followed.

"Right guys, we're going to take the tube. These are Oyster cards," Natasha commented, passing us all a credit card sized piece of plastic. "They will get us on and off the tube. I obtained a few and topped them up online. You swipe them at the ticket barriers, in the tube stations."

"Tube?" Hailee and Megan enquired.

"The Underground," Natasha replied. "It's like the New York subway; only the trains travel in tubes, hence, 'The Tube'."

"Oh, right we understand!" Both girls replied.

* * *

I walked down the road, alongside my brother.

"Where we going?" I asked Mom.

"Green Park tube station."

"What are we doing when we get there?"

"We will catch a train south to Westminster..."

"Cool – then?"

"Let's just get to the station first..."

..._...

We entered the _very busy_ station and I stared up at the various signs and coloured symbols.

"Which line?" I asked.

"You _are_ full of questions today!" Mom chuckled.

"Jubilee Line," Cassie called. "The grey one."

"Keep hold of my hand, young lady!" Mom growled, grabbing my right hand tightly. "The rest of you, grab a kid!"

Chloe grabbed Stephanie's hand and Hailee had Danny's – Mom was obviously not taking any chances . . . not this time! We headed towards an escalator and swiped our Oyster cards. We descended two escalators before we all gathered on a platform to wait for the train. For some reason, Stephanie did not seem very amused about holding hands with Chloe.

"We're good now?" Stephanie asked as she looked up at Chloe, a hopeful expression on her face.

Chloe looked down at the younger girl and smiled like a Crocodile would as it stalked its prey.

"Not even close, honey..."

"But I only took your bottoms – you stripped me stark naked!"

"You ain't got anything anybody wants to look at..." Chloe retorted nastily as Stephanie scowled and blushed a decidedly nice shade of pink. "Now, be nice, or I shove you in front of the next train..."

Stephanie's expression was hilarious as she took a large step back from the edge of the platform and put Chloe between herself and the trains.

..._...

After a few minutes a train pulled into the station; it was red and silver and was not much smaller than the tunnel it ran through. Mom shoved me onboard ahead of her as soon as the doors opened. She was not allowing me to move any more than an inch from her side!

Jeez, you get yourself kidnapped, just the one time...

* * *

The trip did not take long, but it was very noisy and the train rattled!

I was glad to be able to get off the rattling death-trap and after a couple more escalators I was over the moon to be back out in the fresh air again. Westminster Tube Station exited out onto Bridge Street beside Portcullis House and opposite...

"Big Ben!" Danny exclaimed.

I smiled as the kids stopped talking and just stared up at 'Big Ben'.

Stephanie had been to London before, when she much younger, but she had told me that she could not remember a lot of it. I had seen it before, the year previously, as had Chloe, Cassie and Natasha. It was the first time that Anne-Marie had actually shut up since she had awoken that morning – which was one hell of a relief for _everybody_!

When the kid's necks started to hurt, we walked down the street, past the Houses of Parliament and onto Westminster Bridge where we stopped to look up and down the River Thames.

"Wow!" Danny exclaimed as he took in the London Eye.

Anne-Marie moved down the bridge – despite her only being a few feet away, I started to feel anxious and uneasy.

"Get your skinny butt back here!"

"Maybe you should just get a leash, Mom..." The eight-year-old shot back with a smirk.

"Don't tempt me, girl – you can borrow Megan's!"

It was harsh, but it was fun to see Megan as she scowled and then stalked off down the bridge while Chloe laughed nastily. I followed on behind and kept a very tight hold on Anne-Marie. It was actually pleasant to be able to enjoy the views; London had many pleasant sights and I was determined to enjoy them as much as possible.

The twins were really enjoying what they were seeing too.

* * *

Stephanie was keeping us all amused.

Her antics as she tried to get Chloe to give up any of her retaliation plans that she might have had, were fun to watch.

"So, Chloe, we're even, right? What do ya say; let's let bygones be bygones..."

"You exposed me to everybody..." Chloe growled.

"Aw come on – I've seen that DVD of you and Erika in Gotham – everybody saw a _whole_ lot more – not to mention the hardcore full-on lesbian action, which I will admit was pretty hot...!"

"You're not helping your case, Lizewski..."

"Okay, okay – one free revenge shot; I won't fight back or defend myself..."

Chloe smirked – Stephanie was playing right into her hands!

"Okay, but I'm _not_ gonna tell you when its coming..."

Stephanie looked unhappy – after me, Stephanie was only really scared of Chloe and she respected the older girl for her proven capabilities.

..._...

By that time, we were walking along the south bank of the River Thames, past St Thomas' Hospital and a few hundred yards further on, we reached the next bridge across the river: Lambeth Bridge. We all paused and I pointed out a large building over to the left on the far bank.

"That building, there, is Thames House. Who lives there?" I queried. "Not you Chloe; I know you know..."

Stephanie piped up.

"The Security Service, more commonly known as MI5."

"Well done, kid!" Natasha said.

"Bang on," I confirmed. "Now – we have some reconnaissance to accomplish."

We flagged down a pair black cabs and climbed in.

"Where to luv?"

"Waterloo Station, please..."

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

 ** _Mayfair_**

It had been a busy day and we were all tired after all the walking.

"So," Stephanie asked Dave at supper. "What did you guys get up to."

"We were scouting and taking photos, ready for the next phase of the operation," Dave explained.

"Things should kick off in the morning, if all goes according to plan," I added.

"We going to get our hands dirty?" Megan asked.

"Yes, Megan, you might but I hope not."

"Steph – I am not going to do anything to you until this entire operation is over," Chloe said as she gave the younger girl a genuine smile.

"Thanks, Chloe," Stephanie replied with a smile of her own. "I am sorry for doing that to you."

"You were just being a kid and I can't fault you for that... Besides, just about everybody has seen me naked, so no harm done..."

"Am I in the clear then?"

"We'll see . . . but I can't let people think Chloe Bennett has gone soft."

That got a laugh from around the table.

After Supper, I sent all the kids to bed early; they would need their rest for the next day's activities.

..._...

There came a knock on our bedroom door; it was after ten.

"Mindy?"

"Yeah, Abby..."

"That name Cartwright gave us – Roger Granger – we have a number for him as you requested."

"Thanks, Abby – night..."

"Night, Mindy."


	5. Waterloo

**_Wednesday, April 20th 2016  
The following morning_**

 ** _Waterloo Bridge_**

I pulled out the sheet of paper that Abby had provided me with the previous evening.

On it was a number: 020 3353 2000 – I entered the number into a cheap pay-as-you-go phone and waited for the connection.

The number rang and then after a few seconds the call was answered by a gruff voice.

* * *

 ** _The Guardian Newspaper  
Kings Place, 90 York Way  
London N1 9GU_**

"Granger..."

"Waterloo Station, south entrance, thirty minutes..."

"Who is this?"

"They call me Hit Girl..."

The man showed mixed expressions – fear, amazement, intrigue; the intrigue won as he began to gather his kit together, his phone still to his ear.

* * *

 ** _Waterloo Bridge_**

"You want to talk to me about that subject of yours – you come alone."

I hung up the cheap mobile, pulled off the battery and snapped the SIM card in two before chucking the phone, battery and SIM into three separate rubbish bins as I walked.

* * *

 ** _Inside an EDF Energy Van_**  
 ** _Kings Place_**

"You getting an image, base?"

"Copy that, Survey One!"

"Where's he going?" The Surveillance Tech, Daniels, asked nobody in particular.

"Okay, he's on the move – Target is mobile!" The Senior Surveillance Tech, Willis, announced.

There was a brief scramble amongst the Surveillance Techs as they activated their systems to keep an eye on the Target.

"Okay, people, look sharp – give me eyeballs on the street..."

The image on the main screen moved and followed the Target as he walked.

"Subject is on the move – Mobile One and Two, move out!"

"Where's that audio? I want to know where he's going..." Willis ordered.

* * *

 ** _Roger Granger  
Kings Place_**

Roger Granger raised his hand to hail a black cab.

Within a minute, one pulled over sharply and he climbed in the rear, seating himself on the backseat on the left of the vehicle. He never noticed the silver EDF van pulling out as the black cab passed it. His attentions were set on the person that he was to meet.

That person had a reputation that preceded her.

* * *

 ** _Embassy of the_** **_United States, London_**  
 ** _Special_** **_Projects Section_**

"Feeds up, sir!"

Vossen sipped at his coffee as the image from the van stabilised on the screen before him.

"This is Mobile Two, subject is confirmed."

"Where is he going?" Vossen asked.

"Seems to be Waterloo Station . . . according to the destination logged by the taxi."

* * *

 ** _Roger Granger  
Waterloo Station_**

"Twenty pounds straight, guvnor."

Granger paid the cab driver as he exited the cab on Waterloo Road, just outside Waterloo Station.

The man moved towards the Waterloo Road Concourse, ignored the entrance to the Waterloo Underground Station on his right and headed for the escalator that would take him upwards, to the Main Concourse and the platforms. He never noticed the short, young girl with blonde hair as she darted easily through the crowd and neither did he notice the girl's right hand dart into and out of his right jacket pocket.

The phone rang, just as the EDF van pulled up outside the station.

Granger looked around to see whose phone was ringing, but he noticed several people looking at _him_. He reached into his own pockets and was very surprised to feel a vibrating object in his right jacket pocket. He pulled it out – it was a very cheap Motorola. He pressed the green button and raised the device to his right ear.

"Hello..."

* * *

 ** _Special_** **_Projects Section_**

There was consternation in the control room as they saw the phone materialise from the jacket pocket.

"I need that phone..." A controller ordered.

The image was shaky and the sound was drowned out by people and the ambient sound of a busy Mainline Railway Station.

* * *

 ** _Waterloo Station_**

"He has a tail!"

"Any guesses as to who might be tailing him?" Mindy demanded rhetorically.

"Lucky we took precautions..." Chloe admitted.

"Luck had nothing to do with it..." Mindy growled.

"I see Steph – she planted the phone," Josh said, lowering the spy monocle. "She's joined up with Hailee, near Platform 15."

"I have eyes on Granger!" Dave called in and I gazed down from the balcony towards the entrance from the lower concourse.

"You ready, Megan?" Mindy asked as she pulled out a cheap cell and dialled a number.

"I'm good to go, Mindy."

* * *

 ** _Roger Granger_**

He stopped just shy of the barrier to Platform 5 and listened.

"Don't ask questions, just listen . . . move towards Platform 15..."

* * *

 ** _Special_** **_Projects Section_**

"What's the man doing?" Demanded Vossen. "Who the hell is he talking to? I thought we blocked his damn cell?"

"Eddy, I need that phone!" The controller called.

Vossen came to a quick decision.

"Activate the asset..."

The controller turned.

"Sir, we haven't become operational yet..."

"I said: activate the asset; I want options..."

The controller turned and punched a code into a keyboard.

* * *

 ** _East of Piccadilly_**

The man was of Asian descent and young, maybe mid-twenties.

He sat in his light blue BMW 3-Series saloon and read his newspaper, whiling away the time, until... His mobile phone buzzed as it sat beside the gear stick. He idly gazed at it, read the code off the screen and casually folded up his newspaper, dumping it onto the backseat. The man, Sanker, started the engine and he pulled out into the slow moving traffic.

He soon turned left and accelerated towards Westminster Bridge. The road sign pointing down the street said: 'Waterloo'...

* * *

 ** _Waterloo Station_**

Granger was jumpy and that worried me.

People who were jumpy made mistakes and they often took others with them. I kept a good eye on Stephanie and Granger – he of course had no idea that we had somebody within feet of him. I was about to suggest that we met when Joshua called urgently.

"Angry men pouring into the Station, near Platform 6."

I turned and raised a spyglass to my eye – he was right, as usual.

"Steph, get Granger out of sight!"

* * *

 ** _Platform 15_**

"We have to move . . . come with me if you want to live..."

"What?" Granger demanded as he looked down at me.

"They are coming and they will kill you – move old man!"

I seized his arm and led him away from the platform and towards the shops. The man was a little bewildered, but he allowed me to lead him, which was a blessing. I led him straight into a shop and then through the back and into the Lower Service Area.

"Stay here and answer your phone."

..._...

I left Granger and pulled the security door closed behind me. Before I could make it out of the shop, I saw a man enter and make for the rear door. He had an earpiece and I could make out the shape of a pistol under his left armpit . . . CIA. I made directly for him and intercepted him before he got anywhere near the door.

"Get out of the way, little girl..."

I smiled up at the man as I grasped his hand and shoved it inside my jacket.

"Help! Help!" I yelled out loudly. "This man's feeling me up!"

The man yanked his hand back like he had just touched a burning coal and he was instantly grabbed by two large men and thrown against a wall.

"You dirty fucking kiddy fiddler!" One of the men growled.

"Hold him here till the Police arrive," said the other.

I smiled at the man as he tried to bluster his innocence and I raised the middle finger of my left hand. His eyes went wide as I ran out of the shop.

"You are one crazy bitch, Steph!" Chloe laughed.

"Well done!" Dave chuckled.

* * *

I called Granger.

"Just stay there..."

"I can't..."

I heard banging over the phone.

"They're at the door!"

The man was panicking; he was way out of his comfort zone and he had no idea what to do. I flew down the twin escalators, with Megan directly behind me. It was all coming apart – fuck! There . . . a man with 'Network Rail' on the back of a Hi-Viz jacket was just making his way through a security door. Before the door clicked shut, I caught it and waited a second as the worker vanished to the left.

Once through the door, I drew my pistol, a SIG Sauer P320 Compact in nine-millimetre and secured an SRD9-K suppressor to the end. Megan followed suit with her own SIG Sauer P239 Tactical and SRD9-K. We followed the corridor and took a right; I hoped that we were headed for where Granger was still hidden.

As I peered around the next corner, something struck the same corner, just inches from my head and I flinched backwards.

"Contact!" I called over the comms.

I felt Megan's left hand on my waist – she was ready to move. It was a left hand corner, so we both came around, fired together and the man with his pistol raised quickly fell to the floor of the corridor.

"Clear!" Megan announced.

..._...

Over the comms, I could hear Dave talking to Granger and he was struggling to get Granger to listen to his instructions.

"Stay where you are, help is almost there..."

"I can't wait . . . they're everywhere . . . I can hear somebody . . . oh my God!"

I leapt over the dead body and continued down the corridor – finally . . . Granger was in sight . . . he was right; they _had_ found him. Two men appeared from a side corridor and one raised a pistol towards Granger. I holstered my own pistol; there was too great a chance of hitting that idiot, Granger.

Instead, I exchanged a glance with Megan and we attacked from the rear.

* * *

 ** _Lower Service Corridor_**

If I survived, a promotion would be in order.

The story would sell by the million and earn me millions! My nerves were shot and I could not stand the waiting any longer. As far as I was concerned, I had to get away from the station and to safety as soon as possible.

The two men just appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and I froze in sheer terror as the pistol was raised and I stared down the most enormous looking black hole at the business end of the gun. Then my attention was drawn by the appearance of two more people – these two contrasted with the 'gun for hire' look of the two men before me. The two girls – neither could have been more than about sixteen, while one looked barely old enough for puberty – they attacked the men with guns before the men knew that the girls were even there.

..._...

What a sight! The younger girl, with her auburn hair hanging loosely, struck with her left foot and kicked the man with the gun in the small of the back. The man yelled out in pain and he lost his footing as the same girl kicked him in the side of the head. The gun clattered to the tiled floor.

The other girl, with her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, she dived towards the other man and threw him against the wall before punching him hard in the side and then she flipped him over and down to the floor, rather hard. The man's lungs were emptied in a single whoosh as he landed. That was not the end of his treatment as the girl stamped down hard on his chest – I heard several loud snapping sounds and the even louder bellow of the man's reaction to his ribs snapping.

I turned back to the younger girl to find her smashing her man's head against the floor until he lost consciousness.

It was all over in mere seconds.

"Are you just going to stand there looking like a total dick?" The younger girl demanded as she shoved me down the corridor and away from the carnage.

* * *

 ** _Upper service corridor_**

I had a perfect vantage point, plus I could hack into the station's CCTV system.

However, it was the _only_ good vantage point in the station – there was a noise from outside the door and then the door opened. It was obvious that he had not expected to find us up there. He was large and he held a sniper rifle in his hands. I snapped my laptop shut and rolled to one side.

Hailee attacked; she driving forwards and shoved the surprised man against the wall. He tried to use his rifle as a melee weapon, but Hailee produced an extendable baton and fought the man – I ran out the door and waited around the corner where I drew my SIG Sauer P290RS from the holster on my right ankle.

I heard the fighting and the scuffling, then there were several muted gunshots and I went back into the room, pistol raised.

"All under control..."

The man was dead, three red-rimmed holes in his chest. Hailee held the man's sniper rifle.

"SIG Sauer 716 .308-calibre with sniper scope and SRD338-QD suppressor – a very nice piece of kit..."

Hailee disassembled the weapon and pocketed the firing pin before she rammed a cleaning rod up the barrel and snapped it off.

"Let's move, Abigail..." Hailee suggested and we ran down the steps that led to the concourse.

* * *

 ** _Lower Service Corridor_**

I was relieved to hear of the sniper being taken out; that reduced the risk to us all and especially to Granger.

"I've got to get the hell out of here..." Granger bleated.

"Grow some fucking balls!" Megan growled back. "Mine are bigger than yours, for fuck's sake..."

"What do you know about _Urban Predator_?" I asked.

"What . . . oh, yes – I have it here; I made a copy for you . . . here."

Granger handed me a small USB drive – I placed it inside a small Faraday bag to mask any possible tracking signals.

"Wait here; we'll check to see that all is clear," I advised.

"Okay..." Granger replied.

..._...

Megan and I left the corridor via another security door and split up, looking for trouble.

"Fusion, are we clear?"

"We've seen nobody, not since that sniper Hailee took down," Dave replied.

"Clear!" Joshua advised.

"Clear!" Chloe advised.

"Clear!" Stephanie advised.

There was nothing from Hailee.

"Hailee?" Dave called.

If there was a problem, Hailee would have said something – maybe she was tied up.

I rang Granger.

"Standby to move..."

..._...

After one more scan, I gave the order.

"Move! Walk out and turn right, head for the exit past M&S."

I moved towards Platform 15, where Stephanie was loitering and looking very casual; the girl was very good at surveillance and counter-surveillance. I saw his head come apart before I heard the muted report of the .308-calibre supersonic round. I had only heard the sound because I recognised it for what it was – the bullet had left the muzzle of the rifle at 1,840 miles-per-hour and it had taken a mere fraction of a second to pierce Granger's skull.

The sniper rifle was suppressed and any remaining sound of the report was lost amongst the thousands of commuters as they milled around the busy and very noisy train station. People may have missed the sound of the round being fired, but they quickly noticed the man's head as it exploded and the corpse itself as it collapsed to the ground in an ever expanding pool of dark red blood.

The station was pandemonium.

* * *

"Scatter!" I ordered.

I instantly grabbed hold of Stephanie and ran towards the south side of Waterloo Station. The purple motorcycle was exactly where we had left it and I grabbed our helmets, handed Stephanie hers and climbed onto the Ducati, starting the engine immediately. I felt the younger girl climb on behind me and wrap her arms tightly around my waist.

"Hey – don't forget that I'm here, okay?"

Was that fear creeping into her voice?

"Never gonna happen!" I replied reassuringly.

"Let's go."

I registered Stephanie's complete lack of swearing; that meant she was scared. I accelerated away quickly, zipped around a pair of stationary black London taxis and took a right turn at the roundabout.

..._...

We headed northeast, parallel to the station. I slammed on the brakes as a group of people crossed the road at a zebra crossing, just before we made a left onto Baylis Road – the satnav in my visor let me know exactly where I was at every moment. Almost immediately, we took another left onto the A301, Waterloo Road, and we shot past the main entrance to Waterloo Station. The traffic was heavy, as I weaved through the barely moving mass of vehicles and was thankful that we were on two wheels instead of four.

I began to hear many sirens as they approached from all directions.

There were traffic lights everywhere and I had to be careful not to attract too much attention to us – maybe the purple motorcycle had not been the best idea! We negotiated the Concert Hall roundabout and headed northwest towards a bridge over the River Thames.

..._...

The pair of red-painted BMW X5 Police SUVs with blue lights flashing appeared out of nowhere, just as we had reached a fairly clear section of road and then roared over Waterloo Bridge with both SUVs heading towards us. One of the SUVs jumped the concrete median and attempted to block the bridge in front of me as the other one did the same on the other side of the median.

"Fucking hold on!" I yelled to Stephanie and I immediately felt her arms tighten around my waist.

I accelerated at an angle, headed for the concrete median and bounced up the kerb, then raised my front wheel and rode straight over the bonnet of the right-hand X5. The driver did _not_ look pleased!

We came down on the far side and I did not look back; I just twisted the accelerator.

* * *

We raced past a trio of enormous, red, double-decker buses and headed onto the north bank of the River Thames and then re-entered the built-up area of Central London.

We needed somewhere to stop and check the motorcycle for damage before we relied on it to get us out of trouble. I vividly remembered the warning that I had given out to the team, just over a year previously, on our last trip to the United Kingdom: _'...One thing to remember, this is the United Kingdom. This country has the most CCTV cameras of any country in the world and not much in the way of civil liberties. They have a wonderful place, down south, called GCHQ at Cheltenham which basically sucks up every electronic signal in the UK...'_. Hiding in Central London would not be easy, I knew that it was the CIA which was after us, but the Brits may just provide any info that Vossen requested.

We roared through the Strand Underpass and then took a right towards Lincoln's Inn Fields. I parked up off the road and under some trees; we were effectively shielded from both the street and the sky.

"You okay, Steph?"

"Damn, I'm sweating in some _very_ personal places..."

I laughed and proceeded to check out our transport.

* * *

 ** _1.5 miles away to the east  
Embassy of the_** **_United States_**  
 ** _Special_** **_Projects Section_**

"We have a purple Ducati – it was caught on cameras in the Strand Tunnel. We know of one current person of interest who favours that form of transport."

"Go on..." Noah Vossen prompted, seeing the triumphant look on his assistant's face.

A picture flashed up on the screen.

"The passenger is short and she could be nine or ten, more specifically, it could be the Walker girl and therefore the rider must be Hit Girl..."

"Very good – where are they now?"

"They haven't shown up on CCTV leaving the area, so they must be around somewhere."

"Get it out on the wire – take them both down..."

* * *

 ** _Thames House  
UK Security Service (MI5)_**

"Commander Lawrence."

"We have a communication that matches your flags – I've emailed it..."

"Thanks, Bob – box of single malt on its way..."

Commander Lawrence opened the email and he went pale as he read the lines of text. He picked up his mobile and dialled a number.

"Joseph, I think they're in big trouble – our 'friends' have found them: Lincoln's Inn Fields..."

* * *

 ** _Lincoln's Inn Fields_**

Lincoln's Inn Fields was not the safe haven that I had expected it to be.

There we were, a full-scale gunfight in Central London! The CIA had us dead to rights as I returned fire with my G36C and Stephanie kept up fire with her SIG. The four men had appeared out of nowhere in a large SUV; they had started shooting almost immediately and after several minutes, I was down to my last magazine when there was movement behind us and I turned to see the same pair of red BMW X5 SUVs pull up and two Police officers jumped out of each vehicle, G36C assault rifles to their shoulders – we were trapped!

I awaited the challenge, but instead, I was appalled to hear the chatter of the G36C assault rifles sending out 3-round bursts.

..._...

To my utter surprise, I felt no bullets strike my back, but instead I found a Police officer on either side of me and one winked in my direction – they had engaged the CIA! I fired my last round...

"I'm out!" I called.

"Here, have some of mine..."

The Officer to my right passed me two magazines and I nodded my thanks as I inserted one and I began firing again.

..._...

The four CIA men quickly found themselves outnumbered as they were fighting against five assault rifles and a pistol. Two dropped to wounds before they all fell back towards their transport and made their escape. I saw a Police BMW 5-series sedan appear, blue lights flashing, and race after the fleeing CIA SUV.

As I lowered my weapon, I glanced over to our reinforcements. They were all uniformed officers of the DPG or Diplomatic Protection Group, more commonly known as SO6. The obvious leader smiled and held out his hand.

"Sergeant Joseph Beck."

"Mindy Lizewski, and this is my daughter, Stephanie."

"Hi," Stephanie said with a brief raise of her left hand.

"Good to meet you both; we have been out looking for you!"

I looked a little sheepish as I noticed the large dent in the hood of one of the X5s – it was way beyond requiring with just a bit of polish...

"Sorry about that!"

"So you fucking should be!" One of the other officers griped good naturedly. "The paperwork on that alone is going to keep me busy for hours!"

"You're a local?" Sergeant Beck asked, looking down at Stephanie and then over at me. "But you are a Yank?"

"Hey, she's my Mum!" Stephanie growled.

"Just saying, young miss; I meant nothing by it," Beck chuckled. "How old?"

"Nine," I said.

"Nearly ten!" Stephanie corrected me.

Two of the officers chuckled, but then the calm atmosphere exploded, literally!

* * *

Gunfire ripped out and we all dived for the vehicles.

There were two men across the street firing from behind a Ford Mondeo. One X5 was immobilised immediately, but the two officers kept up covering fire while Beck ran for his own X5 with his partner, with the two of us close behind. I fired my own pistol and shoved Stephanie on ahead of me. Then Beck and his partner received a bullet each; Beck in his left shoulder, and his partner in the right thigh.

Beck shoved me towards the driver's seat while he guided his partner into the backseat and he then took the front passenger seat. Stephanie climbed in the back beside the injured officer who had a bullet in his thigh. The rear window of the X5 shattered as I pressed the 'Start' button and pulled the gear selector to 'D'. I floored it and Beck stabbed the blue '999' button on the dash; the siren cut in along with the blue lights as I accelerated away from the gunfire.

"Take the next left and then a hard right!" Beck ordered.

I did as I was ordered and made the directed turns. Other vehicles on the road moved out of the way as I kept to the centre of the busy street.

..._...

"Mindy!"

"Yeah, honey?"

"This man is bleeding badly..."

"Shove your fist into the wound and hold it there... Do it!"

The man yelled out in pain as Stephanie applied pressure to the wound. Beck began to punch the satnav, entering a destination to the northwest of London.

"Drop us off at St Bart's, then get the hell out of London – you can't trust the Met; they will arrest you at best. Follow the satnav and keep going until you cross the M25 – then dump the wheels. Only trust DPG and SEG . . . it's been good meeting you . . . Hit Girl!"

"Thanks, Beck – I mean that..."

"Who are you, young lady?"

"Me? I'm Psyche!"

"Look after yourself, girl, and look after your mother..."

I drove the damaged BMW X5 and the two wounded officers east along the A40, we weaved in and out of traffic.

"Ignore the bloody red lights, girl – keep your foot down; tough luck if they can't see a giant red 4x4 with flashing blue lights!"

* * *

As soon as the two officers had climbed out at St Bartholomew's Hospital, I accelerated away and hit the 'SIREN' button on the dashboard. We had received many concerned looks as we had pulled up to the Accident and Emergency department and I was certain that somebody would have made a phone call.

As I roared up the A1, northbound, I enjoyed the power of having the everyday drivers in London pull over to the left to allow me to sweep past. We must have been quite a sight – a red, marked SO6 Police car with a smashed rear window and bullet holes up the left side of the vehicle. Stephanie had climbed over into the passenger seat almost as soon as we had left the hospital. Her hands and arms were covered in the Police officer's blood up to the elbows. She strapped herself in and helped me keep an eye out for errant pedestrians and drivers. We made surprisingly quick time, only slowing up at junctions to ease our way through the heavy traffic that was stopped at the red traffic lights.

We took a left onto the A501 and we found ourselves heading towards King's Cross. I had never driven a Police car before, let alone one with lights flashing and siren blaring, and I felt empowered as I drove, trying to obey at least some of the traffic regulations where possible.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, we passed King's Cross and the station at Euston, still headed west.

That was when Dave called. Stephanie answered and she put the phone on speaker so I could hear.

"Where the fuck, are you two?" Dave demanded without any pleasantries. "We've heard news reports of gunfire and all sorts of shit!"

"We're safe, Dad... Mindy's driving."

"Do I hear sirens? Are you being chased?"

"Not exactly..."

" _Stephanie!_ "

Dave's rebuke was savage.

"Okay, Dad...! Mindy's driving an SO6 4x4 Police car. We're doing fifty on the A501 towards Marylebone and Paddington with blues and twos... That good enough?"

I heard Dave chuckle and I rolled my eyes.

"Anybody else, and I wouldn't have believed a word – but Mindy? Yeah..."

"Are you safe?" Stephanie asked as I swerved rather violently around a large red double-decker bus.

"Yes, we made it out of the City. We're on a train near Wembley."

..._...

"What the hell?" Stephanie blurted out as she put down the mobile – damn I'm starting to think British!

Two Honda VFR1200 motorcycles roared past with blue flashing lights, while a third came up beside me and the rider, dressed like his colleagues in a fluorescent jacket with 'POLICE' imprinted on it, waved for me to follow him as he took station directly in front of me.

"Who are they?" Stephanie asked with barely concealed concern in her voice.

I was actually amazed by what was happening and it was a moment before I responded to the inquisitive young girl.

"They are the Special Escort Group, or SEG – they are a unique British institution and are arguably the best in the world at what they do."

"They each carry a Glock, openly..." Stephanie noticed.

"These guys don't stop for anybody and they don't even use a set route – it's down to the Lead Rider to select a route as he goes."

"What's that sound – a whistle?"

"They don't use sirens; they use whistles to attract attention . . . and they work."

I cut the siren on the X5 and kept pace with the Lead Rider as his two counterparts raced ahead to clear junctions and direct us as required onto the other side of the road. I was actually amazed how organised they were as we passed through junctions with barely a pause, keeping a fairly constant speed as we went, and then the two motorcycles would fly past to clear the route ahead yet again.

..._...

We followed the A40 in an easterly direction for several miles, quickly leaving London behind and we started to see more greenery and fields. The A40 had three lanes which made progress fast and we maintained a steady seventy, which covered a lot of ground very quickly. We raced past Northolt Aerodrome and then as we passed over the M25, the SEG riders waved at us before they turned back towards London.

We were on our own, so I entered a new destination into the satnav, which would take us a few miles south and then west. After another fifteen minutes, we turned onto some waste ground.

There, we found a small reception committee awaiting us.

* * *

Mindy always did like to arrive in style!

The red-painted BMW X5, with Police markings and blue flashing strobe lights pulled up sharply and the blue lights were turned off. I felt immense relief as two of the four most important people in my life climbed down from the vehicle. I saw the blood on Stephanie's arms as I ran forwards.

"Not my blood, Dad . . . Mindy's neither..."

I grasped both of them into an enormous hug, gripping them tightly enough that both girls squealed. I felt two more people joining the hug, which seemed to go on for ever.


	6. Taken

**_Wednesday, April 20th 2016_**

 ** _That same time_**

 ** _Chicago, USA  
Morton Grove_**

Curtis had been keeping himself busy ever since his cousin and best friend had vanished to Europe; it had been the only way for him not to miss her too much.

Every evening he would be glued to his laptop, looking for any references to _Fusion_ and what they might be doing across the Atlantic Ocean. Knowing Mindy, the way that I did, I was half expecting to see a 'breaking news' item every time I watched the evening news, but none came, until...

"Aunt Cathy! You gotta see this..."

Curtis appeared with his laptop and within a minute the image on the TV changed. I saw a YouTube window appear. Then a moment later a video began to play.

"It's from less than an hour ago..." Curtis explained.

The video was of London; that seemed obvious and then I heard a siren blaring and a large BMW SUV came into the shot – rather strangely it was painted red, but marked up as a Police vehicle. The blue strobe lights on the roof were flashing along with the blue and white lights set into the grill at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was working its way through moderate traffic towards a busy junction and somebody was filming it on their cell phone.

Then, just as the vehicle came really close to the camera, Curtis froze the image.

"Can you see who's driving?" Curtis asked with an enormous grin.

I looked closely and then sat back, stunned.

"You have _got_ to be kidding!" I exclaimed.

"It's only fucking Mindy!" Curtis laughed. "That must be Stephanie beside her."

Then he turned serious as he pressed play again. We watched the vehicle drive past and yes, in profile, it definitely looked like Mindy was driving and yes, there was a short person in the passenger seat! He paused the video again and my hand went to my mouth in shock.

"Oh my God!"

"Those are bullet holes and the rear window is smashed!" Curtis exclaimed.

"Well, they seem to be alive at any rate..."

* * *

 ** _That afternoon_**

 ** _United Kingdom_**

One person had _not_ made the rendezvous.

"Where, is Hailee?" I asked pointedly once the love fest was all but over.

Abby looked wretched.

"She headed out the west exit as planned; I saw her – she should have checked in earlier, but I assumed that her comms were down and that she would meet us at the emergency rendezvous – here."

I glared at Abby.

"Assumption is the _mother_ of all fuck ups!" I yelled and instantly regretted it as Abby flinched backwards, away from me. "I'm sorry, Abby, I did not mean that... Where is she?"

"I don't know. I tried to ping her cell but got no response..."

That, was when my cell rang.

* * *

I did not recognise the number.

"Hello..."

There was silence for a few seconds...

"...Help..."

I recognised the voice instantly... it was Hailee.

"Where are you?"

"I don't know... I'm scared."

"What happened?"

"They took me..."

"Focus!"

"I'm in a house... _They are coming!_ "

I heard the sound of a door opening, a yell of anger, then footsteps... A scream; Hailee's scream... The phone she had been using fell to the floor.

"Get off me you fucking bastards... I'll fucking kill you..."

I heard punches and yells of pain before I heard yet another scream from Hailee, then I heard her no more. Instead I heard lots of movement and then I heard the sound of rustling as the other phone was picked up and . . . breathing.

"I don't know who you are, I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let the girl go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you; I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I _will_ kill you."

There was a significant pause before the reply came.

"Good luck..."

The call dropped off.

* * *

 ** _Two hours later_**

I was pacing around the room in the Premier Inn, restless and angry.

One of the team was missing and she was most probably in the gravest of danger. I hoped to God that she would have the fortitude to be able to look after herself – at least until we found her. Why her? They could have taken anybody . . . despite everything that we had been through, I had a lot of respect for Hailee while her experience and skills were second only to my own. The girl was strong and I knew that she would put up one hell of a fight.

We had already received confirmation that she had been taken – somehow she had obtained a phone; I had a distinct feeling that she would have been severely punished for that... I knew that the girl would be tortured for information; it all depended on who had taken her and exactly what they wanted. There had been no call for ransom, so it was obvious that when they were finished with Hailee...

We had to find her.

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

 ** _West of London_**

"Where are we going?"

"To meet somebody, Steph..."

"I can sense a fib a mile off – don't lie to me, Mindy..."

I smiled at the girl as I responded.

"I'm not..."

"Stop!" Stephanie suddenly yelled out.

I stopped the car with a jerk.

"Hey!" Anne-Marie demanded. "What's going on?"

"I know this place – I went to school right there when I was seven..."

Stephanie was staring out the side window and she seemed mesmerised by the primary school just across the road. I parked the car as a red Vauxhall Insignia pulled up after flashing its headlights at me. I climbed out of the car, followed by Stephanie and Anne-Marie. Out of the other car stepped a woman with auburn hair, she was about five-feet-five-inches in height and she was dressed smartly in a grey trouser suit.

"Hi, Mrs Lizewski, I'm Debbie Grey and I'm a friend of Spook..."

"Please, call me Mindy, Debbie," I replied. "This is Stephanie and Anne-Marie."

"Ah, Stephanie Lizewski, AKA Stephanie Walker, AKA Stephanie Reeman..." Debbie began.

"What?" Stephanie exclaimed.

"... Daughter of Mark and Jocelyn Reeman, sister to James Reeman."

..._...

Stephanie seemed stunned by the revelation...

"My name was Stephanie Reeman?"

"Yes, it was – Mindy asked us to see what we could find out about your parents. They were officially declared dead, along with you and your brother, about six months ago. All assets were liquidated and the proceeds deposited in a bank account in case a relative came forward," Debbie explained. "You are now the beneficiary of those assets, Stephanie – here is a document detailing the account details and the balance."

I took the letter and opened it, then showed it to Stephanie. She was a very rich almost ten-year-old, to the tune of £2,254,751 and 42 pence. The letter detailed where the assets had come from: property, vehicles, cash and life insurance. It was a little over three million dollars and it should keep Stephanie financially sound for life, if well invested...

"It's all mine?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, Steph, it is."

Then I grinned impishly.

"You can afford to swear now..."

Stephanie glared.

"...Probably blow the lot within a week, though!"

The young girl's mouth dropped open!

..._...

We moved onto other matters before things got too much for the young girl.

"I have fresh IDs for you all, Mindy – we noticed when you were stopped the other day for speeding," Debbie explained with a grin. "You have a new licence in the name of Mindy Lizewski and we have British Passports for all of your team; including one for Stephanie Lizewski. They are clean and they should not tip off those you are pursuing..."

Debbie was cut off as her mobile beeped and she paused to check an email.

"Hailee Richards was seen leaving the country on a cross-channel ferry, late last night – our friends in the DGSI: Direction Générale de la Sécurité Intérieure – are watching out for her and they will let us know the moment that they can identify her destination."

"Thank you, Debbie. I think it is time for us to complete our arrangements for visiting France..."

* * *

 ** _That same time_**

 ** _Chicago, USA  
CPD, District 21_**

Captain Marcus Williams was having a peaceful afternoon, having just finished his lunch when there was a knock on his door.

"Trudy – come in!"

Sergeant Trudy Platt pushed open the glass door; she was smirking and Marcus knew the look.

"I am _not_ going to like this, am I?"

Trudy walked around the desk and she tapped the keyboard for a moment.

"Watch that..."

Marcus watched and then he grimaced and leaned in closer to the monitor, pausing the video for a moment. Then he sat back in his seat and looked up at Trudy.

"Holy crap!" Marcus breathed.

"That looked suspiciously like your daughter, Captain – she in England?"

"No point in denying it..."

"What's with the red Police car, anyway?" Trudy enquired.

"Something to do with diplomatic protection, I think..." Marcus replied. "Nice BMW – shame about the bullet holes..."

"Saw those – not to mention the smashed rear window! Wasn't the other girl, your granddaughter?"

"Yeah – looks like it..." Marcus grimaced.

"What would they be doing in the _front seats_ of a Police car, anyway – plus the flashing blue lights and the siren? They were really moving and forcing their way through that London traffic..."

Marcus sank back into his chair and he covered his face with his hands.

"I honestly have no answer – who else has seen this?"

"No idea..."

'What are up to, Mindy?' Marcus thought bitterly. 'Whatever happens, you bring everybody back alive...'

* * *

 ** _Thursday, April 21st 2016  
Early the following morning_**

 ** _The Spirit of Britain  
Dover_**

We were heading for France.

The cross-channel ferry, _The Spirit of Britain_ , had just departed the port of Dover and she now accelerated steadily out of the British port towards France and the French port of Calais, a mere twenty miles distant across the Strait of Dover.

"I feel sick!" Stephanie moaned as the ship rolled in the early morning swell.

"Well, stand down-wind then and try to get everything over the side," Mindy chuckled.

"Your fault for stuffing your face at breakfast, this morning!" Anne-Marie laughed.

"It was amusing seeing Anne-Marie chuck up on the _Salty Swallow_ ; now I get to see my _other_ sister chuck up!" Danny laughed without compassion.

"I'd forgotten about that," Anne-Marie commented, then she had another thought. "Nobody ever did tell me what a 'salty swallow' was..."

Anne-Marie went silent for a moment and I saw Stephanie's expression brighten and her sea-sickness was momentarily forgotten as she whispered something into her sister's ear and then the younger girl's eyes almost popped out of her skull and her face went very red. Stephanie was grinning at her sister's obvious discomfort. It was a minute before the younger girl could actually speak and she glared up at her big sister.

"How do you even _know_ about these things – it's disgusting?" She exclaimed before she turned towards me with an accusing look. "How could you call a boat _that_?"

"Seemed a good idea at the time..." I muttered as I felt my own face warming up and I considered changing the name as soon as possible...

..._...

While Stephanie went back to emptying her stomach over the ferry's side, I considered the next few hours. The team was on their way to Paris. But we first had a ninety-minute boat ride to Calais to complete, followed by a three-hour drive, maybe four if we stopped every ten minutes for Anne-Marie to pee, before we would then reach Paris.

Debbie had provided us with details of a secure Safehouse in the French Capital, which we could use once we arrived.

..._...

We would meet two further team members once we were in Paris – they were both busy arranging for transportation for us once we made it to Paris, through various back doors... I did not enquire as to what those were! Needless to say, it would be good to have two more professionals on the team. We seemed to work well together. Paris would be dangerous and if Waterloo had been anything to go by, we had our work cut out and the more people we had, the better; we were already one down.

My thoughts then turned to Hailee.

Where was she? Was she safe? Was she even still alive? I had to believe that she was, for her sake. I had never lost a member of my team, and Hailee was not to be the first one. We had found and rescued Anne-Marie against all the odds and I knew that we could do it again.

Stay safe Hailee...

* * *

 ** _That same time_**

 ** _Eighty miles to the south  
Dieppe, Northern France_**

My head hurt.

I was slapped across the face again – that was what had woken me up in the first place. I opened my eyes and saw a man glaring down at me.

"You want food – move!" The man growled at me.

I looked around. I was in the back seat of a car; my hands were bound in front of me with two-sets of plastic ties – they were learning! The man reached over and cut them. I braced myself but felt the cold steel of a gun muzzle on my left temple. The point was made; I relaxed.

"Behave and we'll treat you right – misbehave and..."

I felt the barrel of the pistol rap against the back of my head and it hurt, plus another point was made. The door was opened and I was pulled out into the parking lot of a McDonald's restaurant. Either side of me was a man, another followed close behind.

I noticed the bulge of a pistol in each man's jacket and it was obvious what might happen if I tried to escape. I just needed to bide my time – for the moment, at least. I had no idea where I was, but on looking around, I noticed cars driving on the right-hand-side of the right, instead of the left; so I was no longer in England. Then I saw signs in French on the restaurant and I could hear French being spoken.

Okay, I was in France – would Mindy and the others be able to find me? I began to gather intel – the men spoke with American accents; were they CIA? As we ate, I watched and took in everything around me.

"So, you fucking limp dicks, are you CIA?" I enquired between bites of my food.

The three men growled as one and I smirked.

"Bright little fucker, ain't she?"

"Shame she's gonna suffer... you a virgin or a slut?"

I scowled at that question and declined to answer.

"Probably a slut; a cock a day, I'd say!"

That comment received laughter which humiliated me to the very core of my being. The men had been with me since I had been taken, I assumed the day before – I had lost track of time. I remembered being grabbed and the prick of a needle in my neck – then nothing.

...+...

I had awoken in a room, lying on a bed. I had kept my eyes closed and I had listened to my surroundings. I had heard movement around me, but nothing close by. I was still dressed, thank God; my feet were free, but my hands were secured with plastic ties.

I heard a door open and feet move towards me. They stopped beside the bed and I felt the man's breath on me as he leant over to check on me. I reacted with the lightening reflexes that made me Petra. My feet came up and wrapped around the man's neck as my eyes came open. I yanked my arms apart and snapped the plastic ties that bound my wrists. I punched the man's lights out and seized his cell phone.

If nothing else, I had a great memory for numbers; especially phone numbers. I dialled the first one that came to mind...

"Please pick up, please pick up...

"Hello..."

It was Mindy!

"Help!" Was all I could think of to say.

There was no preamble; Mindy got straight down to the problem in hand.

"Where are you?"

"I don't know... I'm scared."

"What happened?"

"They took me..."

"Focus!" Mindy ordered.

"I'm in a house..." Oh, God, I heard a noise from outside the room; I started to panic. " _They are coming!_ "

The door opened and a man came in, he paused for a moment as he took in the scene before him with his colleague lying unconscious on the floor beside the bed and me on a cell phone standing over said colleague. He yelled out in anger before he made for me; I tried to fight, but I must have still been under the effects of whatever they had injected me with as I could not fight at my best. I missed the second man as he came into the room and he must have cracked me over the head with his gun; I screamed and fell to the floor, but kicked his feet out from under him as I went – the phone slipped from my hand and it went under the bed.

"Get off me you fucking bastards... I'll fucking kill you..." I yelled at the men in sheer desperation.

I kept fighting, kicking out and punching the men as hard as I could; I tried to grab for a weapon, but I was hit again, hard enough to make me scream out again, then – nothing...

...+...

That was all that I could remember before waking up in the back of that car with a headache. At least I had been able to get word out to Mindy that I was alive. If there was something that I could count on, it was _Fusion_ coming to my aid.

It would just be a matter of time; how much, I had no idea: I would just have to hang on as long as possible.


	7. Paris

**_Thursday, April 21st 2016  
That morning_**

 ** _Calais, France_**

We left the ferry and picked up the A26 Autoroute where we headed southeast.

Our little three-car convoy maintained a fairly constant 120kph (about 75mph). A little under an hour into the trip, when we were northeast of Arras, we turned south and picked up the A1 before we stopped for a short break – Anne-Marie needed the bathroom while Joshua and Stephanie were hungry; the girl because she had chucked up all her breakfast a couple of hours previously and Joshua because he was _always_ hungry!

An hour and a half later, we joined the Paris ring road, to the east of the French capital. We wrapped around the north of the city before turning east towards our temporary home.

I was _not_ overly happy with the location of our new accommodations though!

..._...

We had a large house on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, which was fine – there was plenty of space and it was more than secure. The downside was the fact that we were a literal stone's throw away from the _three_ places that I most wanted to be miles away from...

Firstly, we had the British Embassy, Paris, which was neutral at best, but it was still risky being so close, due to the extra armed attention it attracted. The British Ambassador's residence was next door, too.

Secondly, we had the Élysée Palace – the official residence of the President of the French Republic. Thankfully, he was not in residence and was not expected back for a while. At least not before we had left his city anyway.

Thirdly – and the worst in my view, we had as another neighbour, just around the corner, the Embassy of the United States, Paris – the enemy! Well – the US was _not_ the enemy, but the CIA would be there and I did not want them to know that we were there, only a few hundred yards away, for obvious reasons.

We had no choice, really, I just had to hope that the Safehouse was safe and trust the British who had provided the Safehouse. We had also obtained a small Warehouse to use for storing our equipment, vehicles and for any 'messy' activities. It had an awesome address; it was located on Avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny in the 12ème district of Paris, about three-hundred-yards north of the River Seine, on the east side of the city.

On the plus side, Abby was bitching about modern technology, which she never did...

* * *

"Yes, Mom . . . yes, Mom . . . _yes, Mom_."

Abby was not amused by the smirks on our faces as we listened in on the conversation.

"Yes, they do sell Tampons in Europe . . . I brought plenty with me . . . I'll be fine, Mom . . . no, I can't tell you where I am . . . OPSEC . . . Operations Security, Mom!"

Chloe was way beyond just giggling and Abby's best friend was now in full blown laughter.

"Okay, Mom . . . _yes, Mom_ . . . love you, Mom . . . bye."

Abby visibly breathed out in relief as she dropped the call.

"Fuck mobile phones... Things were so much easier when she knew nothing about what I did!"

"C'est la vie!" Joshua commented and he received a slap on his arm from an embarrassed Abby.

"You can stop laughing too, fucker!" Abby said to the nearly incoherent Chloe who was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

* * *

 ** _That afternoon_**

 ** _Paris, France  
The Warehouse_**

We began to prepare our equipment.

We had everything with us which we might require for our nocturnal activities. Most of it – at least the dangerous and illegal stuff – had been hidden away within the vehicles. After about an hour, there was a beep from a car horn and I sent Megan to open the main door. Once the door was open, six cars drove in, two towing a trailer with another car strapped in place.

"Awesome!" Megan exclaimed as she closed the main door.

Dave, Jason, Cameron, Eric, Mathilda and Nicky climbed out of the cars. I ran to give Jason and Nicky a hug; it was really great to see them.

"I see you got the cars," I commented unnecessarily.

"Easy – all clean and completely untraceable," Jason advised.

"Nice choices!" Stephanie added as she ran her eyes over each vehicle in turn.

"I have to agree with her, Jason – well done!" I agreed.

"So – what next, Mindy?"

"I need to prepare for tonight's operation – I need to meet somebody..."

"Mysterious..." Josh quipped.

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

Hailee was somewhere in the City – I knew it!

The DGSI had not come back with any useful information, so we were on our own, but I had an idea to tap some local resources. Ever since Kick-Ass had gotten his ass kicked on You Tube, vigilantes began appearing on the streets, around the USA and then world. Most were wannabes who gave up within a week, but some were serious about what they did. Hit Girl and Big Daddy did not count as we were the _very_ first, way, way before Kick-Ass first spotted a green and yellow wetsuit online.

However, there were a select few vigilantes in the world that were both serious about what they did and were properly quipped for what they did. As of 2016, those real vigilantes existed in Chicago, New York City, Gotham and Star City. As for Europe, there was a vigilante organisation growing in Scotland, while on the main continent, there was one known real vigilante.

She was in Paris...

* * *

 ** _High above the Avenue des Champs-Élysées_**

"Bonne soirée, Hit Girl!"

I turned slowly to see a slim figure crouched on the rooftop, not twenty feet away. I smiled on recognising one of the very few other, serious, vigilantes that operated in the world. She was my target for the night.

"Bonne soirée, La Coccinelle!"

"Que faites-vous à Paris?"

"Nous recherchons pour notre ami – elle a été prise et nous l'avons suivi à votre belle ville, La Coccinelle."

"Est le fameux Hit Girl demandait mon aide?"

"Oui."

* * *

"For those who _do not_ speak French," Battle Guy chuckled via satellite from Safehouse F. "Hit Girl just met Paris' very own vigilante – La Coccinelle. Hit Girl then explained that we are looking for our friend, who has been taken. I _think_ we might be getting a French connection."

"I understood just fine, thanks!" Psyche commented dryly.

"Snobby cow!" Jackal chuckled.

"Va te faire foutre toi, Jackal!" Psyche replied sharply.

"Foul-mouthed, little bitch!" Battle Guy commented. "Hit Girl you have a rival for the dirtiest mouth!"

* * *

I ignored the comedians and looked over at our potential new ally.

She crouched on the rooftop and gazed back at me. She was slim and she was clad from her neck to the tips of her fingers and toes in a formfitting bodysuit with thin armoured panels that blended in well with the red and black pattern of her combat suit. On her right hip she carried a SIG Sauer P320 subcompact pistol and on her left lower leg was a knife. Around her waist were several items which seemed to include comms and certain other devices.

Her identity was protected by a blue wig with pig-tails and a domino mask, which matched her suit and surrounded her eyes.

"Eh bien, je peux répondre à votre équipe?"

"You wanna meet the team?" I replied. "Let's go..."

* * *

After twenty minutes of quite energetic roof jumping, we found ourselves on the roof of a large warehouse.

There _Fusion_ awaited us.

"La Coccinelle, please meet _Fusion_ : Jackal, Shadow, Wildcat, Psyche and Kick-Ass!" I said proudly.

"Salut! Il est bon de vous rencontrer – j'aime votre travail." La Coccinelle replied. "Sorry – for those who don't speak French: It is good to meet you and I like your work."

"You speak very good English," I commented.

"And you speak very good French, Hit Girl."

"Thank you."

"Wow – Jackal, you are very handsome," La Coccinelle commented as she walked around the Fusion members.

"Ooh, that French accent is adorable and I _love_ the way you pronounce _Jackal_!" Jackal commented coyly as Shadow began to growl.

"Shadow!" I ordered with a chuckle. "Control yourself and stop that growling."

"Ah, the beautiful Shadow, hello – you are the main reason that I go out at night; I think you are very beautiful," La Coccinelle offered.

Shadow stopped her growling and then she seemed to go all shy!

"The mighty Kick-Ass – very awesome... Wildcat and Psyche – cute little girls!"

Both 'little girls' bristled and growled at that comment.

"Sorry," La Coccinelle said quickly. "I meant nothing by that – you have both earned your positions as vigilantes and I respect you both for that."

"Thank you," Wildcat replied.

"Merci beaucoup," Psyche added.

"Show off!" Shadow chuckled.

"Chienne..." Psyche muttered, just loud enough for all to hear.

..._...

Then it was time for business.

"I would like to help you, _Fusion_ – but in return..." La Coccinelle mused.

"What do you need?" Kick-Ass offered.

La Coccinelle then launched into a fast-paced explanation of what help she needed. Basically, there were some 'hoods', as she called them, who had been causing trouble in the south-east of Paris. Up until now, she had struggled to contain them on her own. They could fight and they used modern weapons and body armour.

Once her explanation was complete, I looked over at Kick-Ass – he nodded.

* * *

There was a lot of preparation required, but we were ready within an hour.

Abby and Eric had arranged a radio link between La Coccinelle and _Fusion_. We would all speak English for the night, too. At around nine, that night, we congregated in Parc Montsouris, in the 14th District of Paris, to the southeast of the city.

La Coccinelle led us towards the centre of the park and that was where we found the night's targets.

..._...

"Le bug est de retour..."

The man was barely in his twenties and I was just itching to smack him – he just had that expression.

"Oh, c'est parfait; êtes-vous vraiment stupide – il est l'un d'entre vous... Vous êtes de retour pour obtenir votre botter le cul à nouveau!" (' _Oh, this is perfect; are you really that stupid – there is one of you... You're back to get your ass kicked again!'_ )

"No – that's why I brought my friends..."

With that pronouncement, we all stepped forwards from the darkness. There were twelve of us in total and that included La Coccinelle. The men numbered about a dozen, but I noticed one of them on his phone and I suspected that he would be calling for reinforcements. I could also hear murmurings from the assembled 'hoods' and it was obvious that they had ideas on who we all might be.

Pistols appeared in most of the hands before us and we mirrored the actions.

* * *

La Coccinelle opened the fighting as she reached behind her back and she pulled some items from a pouch at the back of her utility belt.

She flung the three ninja stars downrange and three men dropped to the ground, almost without any sound.

"Très bon!" I commented and I received a smile in return as the bullets began to fly.

I ducked as a man came at me, his pistol raised. I knocked the pistol to one side and kicked him hard in the chest, which put him down and I followed through with a kick to his head. There was no time to pause as the fight developed into a major action. I turned to assist my husband as he dove headlong into the French attackers.

..._...

I pulled my pistol and put a bullet into a man's chest, but he got back up again; I put the next bullet into his face; that wasn't armoured... Kick-Ass was fighting a pair of large men, not usually a problem for the massive Kick-Ass, but I decided to assist him anyway; we did seem to be short on targets. Psyche appeared and she drove a Sai into the kidney of one man and he went down screaming. She then vanished off for another target.

It was minutes later that I turned to see no more French men standing . . . then I heard the sound of cars as they skidded to a halt on the nearby road. I ran towards them, with Psyche, Wildcat and Drift, hot on my heels. Men and women jumped out of the vehicles. One idiot threw what looked suspiciously like a hand grenade, but quick as a flash, Psyche scooped it up as it landed and she threw it straight back; the grenade entered through an open window on a Renault before it exploded.

The Renault bulged for a moment before it exploded into flames – the screams of at least two people could be heard within the flames.

"Wahoo – French fries!" Psyche yelled.

I looked at her quizzically.

"Get it? Those people in that Renault are French and they're frying..."

"Oh, you are really . . . freaking strange – and that's something coming from _me_!" I growled at my daughter.

Psyche just shrugged and she ran off into the melee.

* * *

To be brutally honest, I was enjoying myself.

The French were hardened fighters and they used firearms, knives and batons with skill. My armour was not as heavy as I was used to, but my reduced nerve endings made a big difference. I brought a baton down hard against the nearest skull and a cloud of blood exploded out.

"Cool!" Wildcat called out as she dodged away from the crimson cloud and then leapt over the body as it fell to the ground.

I ran after the younger vigilante and punched out at an angry French bitch as she swung a baton at Wildcat's head. I received a burst of French abuse as her node exploded, but she was cut off in mid-insult as Shadow rammed her bō-staff through her chest.

"She was getting on my nerves!" Shadow quipped as she dived back into the melee.

* * *

Part of me said that I was invincible – probably that which was fuelled by pure adrenalin.

The rest of me fought that stupid insinuation and kept my feet firmly on the ground. I was fighting some French tart who seemed to think that just because I was of limited stature that I was an easy mark – well she would pay for that!

I could move faster than she could and I kept well away from the very sharp looking machete that was grasped in one of her slimy mits. I got in a couple of very good punches before she managed to kick me to the ground – damn my thigh was on fire! No matter; I was Psyche and I could fight through anything . . . well, almost.

The pain spurred me on and I flew for the bitch. I used my Sais to deflect her machete strikes – which was hard as the woman was stronger than I was. I dodged inside her strikes and then plunged one Sai into her left breast and the other into her right kidney. She screamed – maybe it was painful...

I seized the machete that she had dropped and thrust it vertically into her stomach and up into her chest cavity where the blade shredded her lungs.

* * *

There was a lot going on below us, which made identifying targets difficult.

We made a good team, Wraith and I. Nicky, AKA Wraith, was my spotter; while I sent death at 825 metres-per-second from my Accuracy International AX50 .50-calibre sniper rifle. It was like shooting melons at a country fair – only much more satisfying!

"Nice one, Leon!" Wraith commented as the most recent head exploded as the full-metal-jacket bullet pierced the skull. "Three degrees right; six down..."

"On target..."

I squeezed the trigger and another French doofus dropped dead.

"Target – forty degrees left; eight up – car..."

The first round pierced the front of the car; another close behind and then another – the three bullets destroyed the engine block and the car came to a very rapid and very smoky halt as its occupants quickly bailed out. I saw Shadow and Crimson raise their pistols and then they both proceeded to drop each of them until five more bodies joined the recently deceased collection of corpses in the park.

"Tallyho!" Wraith called out. "Police inbound..."

"Time to wrap things up, guys!" Hit Girl responded.

* * *

"Yes – we must avoid the Police," La Coccinelle agreed as she drove the heel of her boot into some cunts neck.

"Any cunts left?" A rabid looking Psyche demanded as she skidded to a halt and seemingly glared in all directions at once.

"All gone..." I told her.

Psyche bounded forward and kicked the head of a man who was attempting to move.

"Got the fucker!"

La Coccinelle grimaced . . . I just shrugged.

* * *

 ** _An hour later_**

 ** _The Safehouse_**

"You still alive?"

"That was hell on earth!"

"You volunteered..." I pointed out.

"I figured it would be easy . . . considering everything else I've done. Taking down Treadstone was a piece of piss compared to those two…"

Nicky gave Jason a condescending look.

"What?" He demanded.

"Wimp!" Nicky growled.

"Where are my little angels?"

"Right here, Mommy..."

"Don't let the sweet looks and smiles fool you..." Jason warned. "They are _pure_ evil!"

I was inclined to believe him, too.

* * *

 ** _That night_**

There was shouting in the kids' bedroom.

I wondered upstairs and the shouting gradually became louder as I came closer to the bedroom. The loudest voice, not surprisingly, was that of Anne-Marie . . . close behind which was Megan's voice. The argument was getting quite heated too. I paused a few feet away from the partly open door and I listened.

"You need to tell, Mom..." Anne-Marie insisted.

"It's nothing, so just quit your bitching!" Stephanie retorted angrily.

"I've warned you before, Steph; no good can come from this," Megan advised calmly.

"No – she'll take me off operations and that's not fucking happening..."

"Grow the fuck up!" Megan retorted, her anger obviously building.

"You don't talk to me like that, Megan..."

There was the unmistakable sound of skin against skin and I grinned as Megan spoke again.

"Somebody has to... Act like a bitch; get slapped like a bitch!"

"Yeah!" Anne-Marie laughed. "That's what I'm talkin' about..."

"How dare you!" Stephanie growled and I recognised the tone – it was time to intervene.

* * *

Stephanie seethed with anger and I figured that I had gone too far.

I had just braced myself for an attack when the door opened and Mindy strode in. She made directly for her elder daughter and she grabbed Stephanie by the upper arm.

"What's going on . . . Megan?"

"Little bitch received some nasty bruises on her left thigh, but she tried to hide them, only bright eyes over there saw the bruises..."

Mindy studied her daughter's thigh and then gave her a very severe look. Stephanie actually flinched slightly at the expression.

"On a scale of one to ten, how painful is it?" Mindy asked.

"Three," Stephanie replied.

"For her, that means at least a seven!" Anne-Marie chipped in.

"You two – out!"

* * *

Both girls grumbled as they shuffled out the door.

"Close the door..."

Once the door was closed, I turned to Stephanie.

"I was scared that you would take me off operations and I would miss out on taking down _Urban Predator_..."

"I would only side-line you if necessary, Steph, but I would _not_ keep you from the endgame... I know what all this means to you . . . and what it means to Saoirse. Your thigh is bruised to fuck – get downstairs and see Cassie..."

I saw the hesitation and I recognised the refusal to admit to failure that I knew from my own reflection over the years. It was a common sight amongst all members of _Fusion_ , especially on a mission – nobody backed down; even when they were hurting...

"Go..."


	8. Hailee

**Author's Note:** _Please be advised that this chapter touches on some disturbing subjects, that include lurid and graphic descriptions of torture and mutilation which some readers may find disturbing._

* * *

 ** _Friday, April 22nd 2016  
Early Morning_**

 ** _Rue Royale, Paris_**

"I need a beer..."

"Yeah, man – I am desperate for a cool Bud."

The two men had left the United States Embassy, just five minutes previously and for the past four minutes they each had a shadow. Well, technically, one had a Shadow and the other had a Jackal...

"Hey, what happened to the street lights...?"

"Night, night, boys!" Shadow growled.

"Yeah, what she said..." Jackal added as he followed Shadow's actions and coshed his man and dropped a hood over his head.

* * *

 ** _Later that morning_**

 ** _The Cell_**

My arms hurt.

I felt like I was asleep, but that fact was contradicted by the knowledge that I was vertical. My brain struggled to comprehend my current situation. Suddenly, before I was able to accurately figure things out, I yelled out involuntarily as I felt something ice-cold hit me and then, when my brain finally caught up, I also realised that I was very wet. Somebody had just thrown a large quantity of cold water over me. I opened my eyes and I struggled to blink through the water that ran down my face. As my eyes began to focus, I noticed that a man stood before me. In his hands, he held a black plastic bucket, a very empty black plastic bucket.

I quickly looked around me and took in as much as I could.

I was in a square room, which was almost a cell. The walls were ominously bare and made from concrete blocks, while the floor was much more ominous; it was covered, wall to wall, in thick plastic sheeting. I looked above me and saw that my wrists were bound together by copious amounts of silver coloured duct tape – I was also suspended from a hook in the ceiling which explained the pain in my arms! I looked downwards and I saw that I was naked, apart from my panties and my bra. I could see my jeans, t-shirt, jacket, combat-suit, socks and shoes; they were all in a pile over by the far wall, next to the single door that led into the bare room.

Of my weapons, there was no sign.

..._...

"Had a good look about?" The man sneered in English, but with a noticeable American accent.

I had absolutely no idea where I was, or even what day it was. I could remember very little about what had happened to me – I could remember London – Waterloo – the attack... Then nothing until waking up in France, but how much time had passed since then – the bastards must have drugged me.

"Who are you?" The man asked, as he dropped the bucket.

"I was going to ask the same thing," I replied, slightly taken aback – I had expected the man to know who I was as he would have had all my ID, which I had been carrying in my jacket.

"An American? Well, that means that your British passport is a fake, which also means that you cannot possibly be Hailee Richards," The man concluded as I suppressed a grin; he obviously wasn't the brightest tool in the box, so I decided to go along with _his_ fiction.

"My name _is_ Hailee Richards..."

"Bullshit, it is!" The man yelled and he slapped me hard around the face.

I screamed out with the pain.

"You are a member of _Fusion_ and therefore you an enemy of the state!"

"Fuck you!" I yelled back, directly into his face.

* * *

 ** _Mid-morning_**

 ** _The Warehouse_**

"Who is he?"

"He is my Uncle..." La Coccinelle replied conversationally as the man entered the warehouse behind her.

"Whatcha!" The man said cheerfully as he offered his hand. "Any friend of, err, my niece is a friend of mine. My name is Roy..."

"Hello, err, Roy – what is your, err, speciality?"

"Well, Hit Girl, I interrogate people – the old fashioned way..."

I smiled beneath my mask; we were going to have some fun. The man was in his sixties, but his eyes were full of life and they seemed to smile, but there was also a darkness in those eyes – the man was a killer. He had a rich London accent, which at times was not so easy to understand, but I liked him.

"Mind if I watch...?" I asked.

"Of course not – your reputation proceeds you, good lady!"

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

"Time for you to learn a fucking lesson; no more mister nice guy!"

He reached into his pocket and withdrew a knife; he flicked it open to reveal a wicked looking six-inch blade. My eyes were instantly drawn to the sharp tip of the shiny blade which glinted in the light as he ran it across the skin of my stomach and up my left side. Without warning, he brought the blade upwards and swiftly cut the straps of my bra before he pushed his fingers between my breasts and yanked the bra off; he dropped the destroyed garment to the plastic-covered floor. I felt uncomfortable as the man ran his eyes across my breasts; he smirked.

"Nice – they'll come in handy later on..."

I felt disgusted and my skin crawled as he then proceeded to run both of his hands across my bare breasts; I felt my body betray me as my nipples hardened beneath his fingers. He ran the blade of his knife gently across my breasts before he rested the sharp point on my left nipple.

"How'd you fancy being flat-chested for the rest of your life?"

My gaze fixated on the point of the blade, but then his left hand came up and without warning he punched me in the right breast. The pain was immense as I screamed out and I struggled to breathe. He followed up with a punch to my stomach, which caused my struggle to breathe to become worse and I coughed for a few minutes before the pain and the sensation went away.

..._...

"Thirsty? Hungry? You're gonna need to keep your strength up for your interrogation..."

"Torture, don't you mean?" I challenged.

"Tom- _ah_ -to, tom- _a_ -to!"

The man pulled a half-litre bottle of still water out of his pocket and opened the cap. I began to wolf the water down as he held the bottle to my lips – I choked a few times and some of the water spilled down my chest, but I drank it all. He then fed me a bar of plain chocolate; I needed it and I felt much better after the, albeit limited, food and drink.

"I'm gonna find out what I need from you – but for now, I'll let you digest that lot and I'll be back in an hour or so..."

* * *

 ** _The Warehouse_**

We entered what would pass as our interrogation room.

Roy nodded approvingly as he noted the thick plastic sheeting that covered the floor and extended about four feet up each wall. In the very centre of the room – Jason had gone a little OCD when he had secured the stout wooden chairs to the concrete floor of the small room... The two chairs were occupied by two men – unfortunately for them, they would never see the light of day again.

Roy smiled as he strode behind the two men; both flinched slightly as he coughed gently.

..._...

With a flourish, Roy jerked off the black hoods from each head and the two men blinked in the harsh lights that blazed down from the ceiling.

"Hello, lads," Roy began cheerfully in his deep resonant voice – his accent giving the greeting a distinctive 'ah' sound as a chuckle emanated from deep in his stomach. "Oh dear, you two are in a bit of a pickle, aren't you?"

"What the fuck is this?" One of the man yelled.

The man in question, just like his pal, was secured firmly, by wrists, ankles, waist and chest, to the stout wooden chair that was, in turn, attached securely to the concrete floor.

"You two are nasty little piglets, and I'd really like to hear you two squealing . . . myself and my vigilante friend here, well, we need some questions answered. You cooperate and we all go home – you don't cooperate; I get to have some fun. So please, don't cooperate..."

The men looked from Roy, to myself in my mask and combat suit. There was confusion and some minor worry, but otherwise he seemed to expect that nothing bad would happen to him.

"Fuck you both, we ain't talkin'!" The first man spat.

"This has to be fucking joke, right . . . what's with the fucking Reservoir Dogs look? That supposed to scare me?" The second added. "That's fucked up, understand!"

..._...

"Now, you can make this easy, or I can make it hard; what's it gonna be?"

The two men looked a little apprehensive, but that was all – he just shrugged at the comment.

"Fucking untie me now, and maybe I'll let you both live..." The first man said with as much bravado as he could muster.

"That's very considerate of you," Roy chuckled. "Now, where can we find our compatriot?"

"Fuck you!"

"Okay, that question was too hard – let's begin with an easy one: name?"

"Don't have one..."

"Maybe we should tell the two boys why we are here?" I growled.

"Yeah!" Roy agreed cheerfully. "Well, this is how it is, lads... a good friend of ours went missing the other day, back in blighty . . . and well, we want her back... Now, one of you..."

"Or both..." I cut in.

"Or both," Roy agreed, "of you were involved and you will have to pay for Hailee going missing."

"Listen," The second man growled. "You have no idea what's coming for you when we get outta here – we're C.I.A.; you know what that means?"

"It means you're fucking dead!"

"Oh . . . well, being 'fucking dead' doesn't worry me too much, son, 'cause I've been nearly 'fucking dead' many, many times and so has my friend and her friends..."

"I don't give a fucking shit about you, or your bitch friend..."

"Well, you _should_ , you should give a shit about who we are..."

"What?" The first man cut in. "One old buzzard and a teenage vigilante wannabe?"

Roy sighed – but it was a happy sigh.

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

The man returned a while later.

I decided to play a card and see if I could get a break; besides, I really needed it.

"I need the bathroom."

"Is that so?" The man replied without much interest.

"You enjoy torturing defenceless young girls?"

"To be honest... yeah, I do."

"Fucking scum!" I yelled.

"You wanna pee – then just pee..."

"What?" I exclaimed, appalled by what I was hearing.

"Oh, sorry – it wouldn't be right to let you piss your panties now, would it...?"

With that, the man reached over and he deftly pulled my panties down my legs and then off before he dropped them to the floor by my feet.

"Now, you can pee..."

I glared at the man; I felt the humiliation that arose from being completely naked before a strange man, not to mention the humiliation of needing to pee, but having to beg...

"Please..."

"I'll be nice," the man replied with a creepy smile and an equally creepy nod at my crotch. "I'll leave you for five minutes – you know, give you some privacy."

With that, the man left the room. I felt total despair – I did not want to do it, but I honestly had no choice; I really needed to go. I felt the tears as they poured down my face and I sobbed with the utter despair. I struggled, but finally, I gave in and I reluctantly released my bladder. I felt dirty and I felt ashamed as the warm liquid trickled down my thighs and legs before it audibly hit the plastic and pooled around my toes. I could feel the warm liquid between my bare toes and I felt disgusted with myself as the man returned.

"Wow – you really needed to go!" He commented as he examined the pool of urine. "Now – I need information . . . so let's talk..."

I screamed as the punches began to land on my body.

* * *

 ** _The Warehouse_**

Roy walked over to the workbench that sat against one wall, and he studied the tools laid out there.

He casually removed his jacket, folded it and then placed it neatly on the end of the bench. Next, he took a plastic butcher's apron and placed it over his head and then tied it around his waist. He hummed to himself as he ran his hands over the tools before he selected a claw hammer and two six-inch steel nails.

The men started to look uneasy and they exchanged a look or two as Roy came closer.

..._...

Then, a few seconds later, there came the almost simultaneous sound of hammer against nail, nail being driven into wood and the scream of immense pain from the first man as his right hand was pierced and nailed to the arm of the chair.

Wow – Roy was a bad-ass!

"This – will – continue – until . . . we – have – our – information!"

The scream intensified as his left hand received the next nail, each word was punctuated by a hammer strike – four strikes per nail.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," The man screamed out.

Roy casually strode back to the bench, gently replaced the hammer and retrieved another tool. I had to admit that it took me a moment to recognise the tool.

"You recognise one of these? Fucking antique, init – used to take an age an' all," Roy said before he paused to laugh. "You have no idea how hard human bone can be – this was how we used to do it, back in the old days..."

Was that terror in the men's eyes?

..._...

"But this..." He walked over to the workbench that sat against one wall and flipped open the lids of two large plastic cases. He pulled out what appeared to be a cordless hammer drill and a shiny new, ten-inch drill bit. "This is the new way!"

The men looked horrified as the motor spun up for a few seconds and then there was silence as Roy continued his lecture.

"This is totally unnecessary, but I see it as – well – let's just call it encouragement for you and a hobby for me..."

As I watched, Roy proceeded to nonchalantly load the drill bit into the chuck of the drill. He flipped the selector switches and then pulled the trigger. The drill spun up and the first man tried in vain to move backwards through his chair. Roy was smiling as he positioned himself over the man's right leg.

"First, we must remove the material, or it may get caught up in the drill," Roy said conversationally as he expertly cut a square opening in the man's trousers. "Got to play safe, or this is just goin' to end up bloody..."

The man began to shake with fear; still traumatised by his damaged hands. Roy lowered the drill and placed the tip of the bit just above the knee end of the femur.

"You have to take your time, or you miss the bone completely and you have to start again – I like precision..."

The drill spun up to speed and rapidly cut through the flesh of the man's thigh. He screamed, but I was impervious to it all as the blood streamed from the wound and there was a grating noise as the drill bit found the bone and easily cut through it; Roy continued until the chuck was about half an inch from the man's bruised skin.

"All done – time for my tea break; you don't want to make me work through my tea break... Don't go anywhere, you two; I'll be right back."

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

The pain was beyond excruciating.

Every part of my body ached; the parts that I could feel of it – some parts were actually numb, which was kind of a blessing. Every fifth punch went into my face, but they were not full on punches; he knew how to keep me conscious, to maximise the pain. The rest of the blows went into my stomach, my chest and my breasts, my upper arms, my thighs, my back...

I could not understand how I was still conscious with all the pain that wracked my body. I was screaming as loud as I could; I hoped for somebody to come and rescue me, to pause the torture that the man was inflicting on me.

The man smiled through everything and he only paused to take a drink from a can of Coke every few minutes.

* * *

 ** _The Warehouse_**

The man was still screaming.

Probably something to do with the identical drill bit that had been driven into and through his left femur. The sound of the drill as it cut through the man grated on my nerves; even I was freaked out by it, but I tolerated it. Finally, the job was done; each drill bit had a hole pre-drilled through the shank and the hole was lined with copper.

A few minutes later, Roy slapped both men around the faces – the first man had passed out with the pain and the second was looking decidedly pale for some reason...

"Wakey, wakey – I'm sorry son, but you have to be awake, or this is all a complete waste of time! Now, what many people don't know is that it takes skill to electrocute somebody, where only pain is inflicted, but not death. Well, not immediately anyway..."

"Now, we are willing to forgive and forget, if either of you are willing to tell us where Hailee is – anybody?"

The men were well trained, I had to give them that.

Roy calmly connected a wire to each drill shank; one wire was black, and the other was red. The opposite ends of the wires, they were attached to a black box with a power switch, a rotary knob, and a dial. It was simple, but it would be very effective.

"Hit Girl, would you please flick the switch?"

"With pleasure, Roy... With pleasure..."

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

The door opened and the sight was beyond disturbing.

The young girl hung from the ceiling in the centre of the room. Her once beautiful, naked body, all five-feet-seven-inches of it, was now covered in vivid purple bruises, cuts, and blood from head to toe. For the moment, she was unconscious, her long brown hair hung free, her skin covered in beads of sweat from her ordeal. The room stank, primarily from the pool of urine at the young girl's feet, but also from the sweat and the blood.

It was a shame, really, the girl was actually very beautiful – it was even more of a shame to make her endure what was to come next.

* * *

It was the cold water again.

I came awake almost immediately as the icy water struck my face and then splashed down my naked body. I shivered with the cold, but the icy water also soothed my bruised skin along with the countless cuts that I could feel, but not see.

"Hello... It is time to move on and I will admit that I am very sorry to have to do this, but you are not being very cooperative, so..."

"Fuck you!"

"I thought so..."

The man was smiling and I did _not_ like the smile – not one damn bit! I steeled myself with the knowledge that I was not alone – they would come for me, my friends would come for me, _Fusion_ would come for me...

"This is one of the more fun methods of persuasion available to me – well, fun for me at any rate!"

The man had already humiliated me to my core when he had discovered the tampon string in my pubic hair. I had gasped as he had yanked it out and then grimaced as the very personal, used item was dangled before my eyes and then allowed to plop into the pool of my now cold urine which still touched my toes.

The pain I had endured to that point was almost unbearable, but I was used to bruises and the associated pain. There was _no way_ that I was going to rat out my friends – never!

..._...

The knife was back and he waved it before my eyes. Then he produced a blowtorch and triggered the bright blue flame.

"I'm not a sadist, so I'll sanitise the blade..."

He did just that and I felt my body begin to shake at the thought of what the blade was about to do. Would he use the flame too? As I watched, he ran the flame over the knife, just as he had said, until the blade began to glow – it was sterile... Then the blade was held against the soft skin just below my left breast – I screamed with the sharp burning pain.

"Not nice..." The man drawled.

I felt the tip of the blade pierce my skin and then I felt the warm blood trickling down my stomach. The knife went in at a shallow angle into the flesh, but no deeper. He then reheated the blade before repeating his actions on my left thigh, level with my crotch. I tried to move away from the blade but he casually placed the blowtorch on the floor and then punched me very hard in the right thigh, which caused the muscle to go numb; the pain I felt was excruciating.

"A good pain threshold – let's see..."

* * *

 ** _The Warehouse_**

The first man, he had gone into shock and died.

The second man, well, he had decided that he wanted to live – at least a little longer. It had only taken one nail before he had begun to have a bad case of verbal diarrhoea which just got worse and worse... As the man had spoken, I had a distinct feeling that Roy was annoyed at being cheated out of another round of torture.

I had to be honest, I was glad that Roy was on our side...

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

 ** _The Cell_**

I watched as the man held up a length of electrical cable before my eyes. The end of the cable was bare copper and my heart sank – I knew what was about to happen and it scared me to my core. He touched me again, but only after he licked his thumb and forefinger and then rubbed my left nipple until it became hard and erect – I was mortified. He wrapped the copper wire tightly around my nipple; the pain was indescribable, but I knew much worse was yet to come.

For a moment, I considered my other nipple to be the other terminal, but no – he had an alternative method for that. The man held up a piece of copper rod, about two-foot-long and two inches in diameter with a wooden handle. There was another length of electrical cable attached to the rod and it seemed, to me at least, very obvious where the rod was about to be inserted. I instinctively squeezed my thighs together and the man laughed as he caught my movement.

"Nothing so prosaic as that – although, it would be fun!"

I managed to force a scowl at that moment, but only for a moment as fear coursed through me and my body shook harder.

The two electrical cables fed back to a junction box beside a large black box. As the man reached for a switch on the box, I tensed up and I prayed for the fuse to blow...

* * *

 ** _Fusion Assault Team_**

I hoped that we were going to be in time.

We sped through the night before we stopped outside a rather decrepit looking building towards the southeast of Paris. It was the location given up by the men Roy had expertly interrogated. The men were both very dead, that was just an unfortunate side effect, but we had learnt much before he had died...

Neither of us had any regrets.

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

"I think a brief demonstration is in order, don't you?"

The man reached down and he casually flicked the switch on the black box. He touched the tip of the copper rod to my stomach and I screamed. I felt a searing pain in both my left breast and where the copper rod had made contact with my sweat and blood-soaked skin. The pain seemed to spread through me until it felt as though my entire body was on fire. I screamed like I had never screamed before, my body writhed with the agony . . . and then mercifully, it stopped.

"Not nice, was it?"

I struggled to speak and I struggled to breathe; my muscles would not function correctly, but I was finally able to spit out one small phrase.

"I – will – not – talk..."

I panted like I had just run a marathon. The man just smirked and brought the rod back up again. That was when I heard the gunshots.

* * *

The scream was unearthly; it was like that of an animal being tortured.

I increased my pace as I ran down the corridor and took another left. I shot a man in the head as I went. I did not stop until I came to a door, behind it I heard shouting from a man and then that scream again. I kicked open the door and my eyes took in the most godawful sight as it was laid out before me.

Hailee hung from a hook, like a piece of meat. The girl was completely naked and she was covered from head to toe in bruises and blood; I was sickened by what I saw. I took in the electrical cables and then the man as he turned towards me and reached for a pistol. In his left hand was what was obviously the electrode. At that moment, he had the electrode pushed against Hailee's right thigh and the girl's body shook with the electric current as it coursed through her body.

I made an instant decision, drew a Katana from my back and brought the blade down onto the electrical cable on the floor. Hailee stopped shaking and screaming, but her body still twitched. The man then dropped the electrode as I rammed my fist into the bastard's face. He fell to the floor just as Kick-Ass and Shadow burst in through the door. Both stopped dead in stunned shock at the scene before them; just as I had.

"Kick-Ass, Shadow – get her down from there..."

I grabbed a convenient roll of duct tape and ran it around the man's mouth and head, with plenty more wrapped around his wrists and ankles. The cunt was coming with us – he was going to suffer, oh yes, he was going to suffer for what he had done to Hailee.

I would make _damn_ sure of that...

* * *

I was astounded by what I was witnessing.

The girl had been beaten on every inch of her body: her face, chest, stomach, legs, back – it went on. Her face was swollen and I felt only hated for the man who had inflicted this on a defenceless eighteen-year-old girl. I gently wrapped my arms around her waist and I lifted her wrists off the hook above her. I laid her just as gently onto the plastic, well away from the pool of urine.

Shadow deftly and carefully cut away the duct tape from Hailee's wrists and the older girl began to regain consciousness. She screamed as she moved her arms down to her sides; they had obviously been raised above her head for many hours and the blood had sunk into her upper arms. I rubbed her arms to restore the blood flow as Shadow went over to the other side of the room and gathered up Hailee's clothing. I carefully eased the copper wire off of her left breast and winced at the unnatural redness of her nipple. Hailee's underwear was wrecked, so I gently helped Shadow to pull on her jeans and t-shirt, plus her socks and boots.

By the time we had finished dressing the delirious Hailee, Hit Girl had the torturing bastard bound and gagged as Jackal arrived in the room. He glanced at Hailee and I saw him stiffen at the sight of the bruises and cuts that were visible on her face.

"Jackal, we need to shift _this_ into the transport..." Hit Girl growled and kicked the man on the ground.

I gently lifted Hailee off the ground and held her close to me. I was extra careful not to aggravate her injuries any more than they already were. Shadow walked over to the man on the floor and she kicked him twice in the ribs, hard enough that I heard something snap.

Hit Girl punched the man several times in the face until he lost consciousness.

..._...

"Merde!" Was La Coccinelle's only comment as we emerged from the building a few minutes later.

Psyche and Wildcat looked livid as we mounted up and moved off...

* * *

I felt myself being moved.

I was wearing clothes; I was dressed!

I was being carried and as I looked up, I opened my eyes and I suddenly became overcome with relief as I recognised Kick-Ass. That was the point where the dam broke and I sobbed, tears streamed down my face and my body was wracked with pain as I sobbed. They had come for me – _Fusion_ had come for me. I pushed my face deeper into his armoured chest and I savoured the comfort that it gave me.

"Take it easy, Hailee – you're safe now."

I believed him.


	9. Avenged

**Author's Note:** _Please be advised that this chapter touches on some disturbing subjects, including lurid and graphic descriptions of torture and mutilation which readers may find disturbing._

* * *

 ** _Saturday, April 23rd 2016  
The next morning_**

 ** _The Safehouse_**

I awoke to find myself in a soft bed, my bed.

I was naked, but I was safe. I opened my eyes to see three people above me and they looked down at me.

"Hi, kid – how you feeling?" Dave asked.

"Like I just sparred with Hit Girl!"

Mindy laughed and so did Chloe.

"We were really worried about you," Mindy said with a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, all of you..." Then I had a thought and I felt really embarrassed. "Who saw me like that?"

"Just us three – it was horrible to witness and I'm really sorry that you had to go through that, Hailee," Mindy replied and I could see genuine concern on her face.

I sat up in the bed, cringed with the pain and held the sheets over my bare breasts. I took a moment to study myself under the sheet – I was a mess, but surprisingly, I was clean.

"Who...?"

"We bathed you, last night, and we dressed your wounds," Chloe said. "You weighed a ton, so Dave helped us move you – sorry."

"No big deal; I've not got all that much to see!" I replied with a forced, but embarrassed smile.

"You have some really nice bits, Hailee!" Dave commented with a grin as he ignored the icy glare that he received from Mindy.

I felt myself blush, but then I began to cry again as memories began to come to the fore.

"It was horrible – the pain – he made me piss myself; I felt so dirty..."

"It was _not_ your fault, Hailee," Mindy said simply.

"I never said a word – I kept _Fusion_ a secret..."

"It's okay – you did everything you could and we're real proud of you," Chloe offered.

"Is he dead?"

"No – the girls and Josh are keeping him on ice..."

* * *

Hailee's eyes went hard.

"You want me to..."

"Yes, Hailee – I think you need closure to help you get past what he did to you... Megan wants to help!"

Hailee laughed.

"She would!"

"Chloe, Dave – let's give Hailee some privacy and space to rest..."

* * *

 ** _The Warehouse_**

"It must be really weird to have a penis."

"Yeah," Wildcat replied. "Having a little bit of flesh dangling about all the time; it must feel strange!"

Psyche was holding the tip of the naked man's limp penis with two fingers of her gauntleted hand while Wildcat wrapped the bare copper core of an electrical cable around the base of the penis. The man was unconscious and he hung from a hook in the ceiling by his bound wrists.

"I've never really seen one up close before..." Psyche commented as she examined the man's genitalia from just inches away.

"Trojan's is much smaller, but it's fun to play with..." Wildcat replied with a giggle.

"Hey, bitches – cut out the penis talk, okay?" Jackal growled.

"Why, have you got one of these things too?" Psyche asked facetiously as she waggled the man's penis in the air.

"Look – stop that. I don't care about _his_ cock, but a word of advice: guys generally _don't_ like their cocks being waved around like that!" Jackal replied.

"I can vouch for that – Trojan hates it when I go all Wildcat on his dick!" Wildcat commented with a giggle.

Psyche smacked the back of her gauntlet hard against the man's testicles before she dropped his freshly wire-wrapped penis back into place. Jackal growled and was about to comment, but just then, the comms crackled into life.

"Jackal, Hit Girl – how we doing?"

"Apart from the bitches from hell having just a little too much fun with male genitalia, we're doing good."

Hit Girl laughed.

* * *

 ** _Later that morning_**

 ** _The Warehouse_**

"You sure you're okay doing this?"

"Yes, Hit Girl, I am – Petra has a reputation to uphold," she replied gallantly.

I was very worried about Hailee – she had actually cried out with the pain as we had helped her into her combat suit; the bruises were still very fresh on her body and her other injuries were very raw. I knew what she was going through – I had been there myself and I knew that she would need some level of revenge and closure after what that bastard had done to her, but she also needed time to recover and for her body to heal. If I had not seen her body with my own eyes, I would never have believed it possible that somebody could have endured so much pain.

"Let's do it, Petra..." I said as I pushed open the door.

* * *

Oh!

Seeing somebody else in the same position that I had been in, only the previous day was a surprise and a bit of a shock. The man was tall, maybe about six foot, although, with him completely naked and suspended from the ceiling by his wrists, he somehow seemed taller. I was no stranger to the adult male anatomy and I had caused men a lot of harm during my time as Petra – between the legs as it were. He wasn't especially big in that region, either – but I _had_ seen smaller. The man was still unconscious.

"Who wrapped his dick?" I inquired as I noticed the wire.

"We did," Psyche said quickly and rather proudly as she indicated herself and Wildcat.

"They had fun, too," Jackal growled. "Maybe a little _too much_ fun..."

I actually laughed at that, which just made my sides hurt.

..._...

Jackal held a bucket of cold water and he stood waiting patiently off to one side. I took a deep breath and braced myself for the task ahead, then nodded and the contents of the bucket were thrown at the naked man. He came awake very quickly, just as I had, and just as I had been, he was very disoriented. I was not wearing any weapons, but on a bench beside me was a very decent selection, laid out for my use. I selected a razor sharp, tactical Bowie Knife.

The man spat out the water and opened his eyes. He braced up as he took in the sight of many people who stood there before him. We were all masked – at least we would be to begin with. I leant in close to him and rested the knife against the tip of his limp dick which seemed to visibly shrivel in self-defence.

"You might not remember me – but we spent some quality time together recently," I growled.

The man showed immediate recognition at my words – I was not using any voice modulation.

"Now, _I_ have the knife . . . mind you, looking at this – call that a cock? – maybe I don't need such a big knife..." I laughed as I got into it and I really began to relish the chance at revenge – thank you, Mindy.

"Fuck you – just kill me, already!"

"Not a fucking chance; you got to have some fun with _my_ body – well, I want some fun with yours..."

The man yelled out as I punched him in the stomach with my left fist.

"Give me your name, fucker!"

"Not happening..." was the expected response.

I turned to my left.

"Psyche – you want to play a bit more?" I inquired.

..._...

Psyche bounded forward eagerly and I waved her towards the man's dick.

"Psyche's not had much exposure to male genitalia; she is only ten – but I understand that she had a good play with you while she wrapped the copper wire around your penis..."

The man looked down at his penis and took in the copper wire, then he looked at the miniature masked vigilante who had just touched him with her gauntlet.

"Don't you fucking touch me, you little bitch!"

Psyche ignored the man as she played with the tip of the man's dick. She used just the tip of a gauntleted finger and she massaged it gently. She seemed to be getting a reaction too...

"Is it supposed to be doing that?" She asked after a few moments.

I peered down and saw that the man's shrivelled excuse for manhood had grown substantially and was now sticking out at a forty-five-degree angle.

"Yeah – it's supposed to grow like that; it wasn't much use when it was so tiny really..." I advised the younger girl.

The man was actually going red in the face as his manhood grew further in stature before everybody and it quickly stood up almost vertically. I looked over to see Hit Girl; she nonchalantly leaned against the wall with her arms folded. Wildcat was beside her and she was laughing – Jackal, well, he just seemed uncomfortable. The man was breathing heavily as Psyche continued to rub the tip of his dick, but he was _not_ here for _his_ enjoyment, just mine...

"Hope you jerked off before we met the other day, 'cause you're not getting any fun outta this... Psyche – step away..."

The young vigilante did as she was ordered, but as she departed she flicked the sensitive tip of the man's penis which made him yell out in pain, and then I laid into the man with both fists.

* * *

 ** _Twenty minutes later_**

The man was in considerable pain.

It was also obvious to us all that Patra was in pain too – the physical exertion was too much for her, so soon after her torture, but I allowed her to continue until she finally turned to Jackal.

"Keep him warm for me..."

I followed Petra as she almost ran out of the door. I found her two corners away, on her knees, her mask in her left hand as she wretched and she was being violently sick. Once she had finished, I held onto her as she sobbed.

"You don't have to go back in there again..."

"Yes, I do..."

I registered the resolve in her tone; I was talking to Petra, not Hailee Richards.

"Anything you need; you just say..."

"Thank you – thank you for everything, Mindy."

She held onto me for another minute before she had collected herself and she slowly got back to her feet. I could see her face screwed up in considerable pain as she moved, but there was also resolve in her expression.

* * *

I re-entered the room and handed my mask to Wildcat who meekly took it without a word.

The man was badly bruised, just as my own body was, and there was a lot of blood. Jackal stood back, away from the man as I entered. His powerful muscles had hurt the man badly and by the look of his left thigh; it was dislocated. I felt no emotion and I wanted to see the man suffer – he had shown me nothing; no respect, no compassion - nothing.

I recognised the signs of shock – the man was not far from plunging into a coma, or even dying on us. I looked over to Psyche who held a small black box with a large red button. I took hold of a familiar item of equipment from the bench.

..._...

"You recognise this?"

The man was barely conscious, but he still went white as he recognised the copper rod complete with wooden handle – there was a black electrical cable attached to the handle.

"Let me remind you..." I nodded at Psyche who pressed and held the button.

I jabbed the man in his left side and got an almost instant reaction – or should that have been, erection – as his whole body shook. Both Wildcat and Psyche actually moved to get a better look! After eight seconds, I removed the probe. The man struggled to control his breathing and all of his muscles kept tensing and releasing.

"Ready to talk...?"

I gave him two seconds to respond and then jabbed the probe into the opposite side of his body, held it for six seconds and then repositioned it against his stomach. The man shook from head to toe and just before he lost consciousness, I removed the probe.

"Enough..."

..._...

I hesitated, as I was about to jab him again with the probe.

"Did you say something, you fucking piece of shit?"

"My name . . . is Victor . . . Victor . . . Hanley..."

I dropped the prod and I moved closer to the man. I had to stand on my toes to reach his face.

"Hello, Victor, my name is Hailee Richards and I am a vigilante... I am Petra and I exterminate vermin like you; I exterminate people who prey on women..."

Victor forced a grin through his pain.

"You would . . . have made . . . a good fuck..."

I rammed my armoured knee into his groin and Victor screamed out in agony as blood exploded from between his legs. I was wiped out, so I left the interrogation to Hit Girl and Jackal – I was not only spent and I just _had_ to get out of there.

..._...

I made it out of the room and sank to the floor in the corridor. I just cried. Natasha, Cassandra, and Stephanie appeared and between them, they helped me to the changing rooms where I had to let them remove my combat suit; I could not move and the pain was indescribable.

I barely registered anything as they dressed me and then helped me into a car.

* * *

 ** _Later that afternoon_**

 ** _The Safehouse_**

I was awoken by a friendly smiling face.

"Hi, Steph."

"Mindy sent me to wake you."

"How long was I asleep?"

"Four and a half hours."

"What!"

"You needed the rest, Hailee – remember you're still human, even if Petra isn't, but after that beating which you took..."

I grinned and I gave the almost ten-year-old girl as big a hug as I could manage.

"You are wise beyond your years, Stephanie, thank you."

* * *

"Having fun?" Hailee asked.

Hailee looked a lot better as she came into the living room, helped by Stephanie. I helped her into a soft chair and tried to ignore the grimaces of pain as she sat down. Her assailant had told us everything that we had needed, however, and we had also run out of time; we had taken two of the CIA's men hostage (and killed them) – we were on borrowed time.

"Good old Vic had a lot of nice things to tell us – not everything, unfortunately; he was only a CIA Contractor, but he was able to confirm quite a bit of the information we got from Cartwright."

Hailee smiled.

* * *

Mindy had used the word 'was', so I took that to mean that 'good old Vic' was dead.

"Thank you . . . did he suffer?"

I saw the satisfied smiles on the faces of Mindy, Megan, Chloe and Joshua – yes, he had suffered.

"We are heading for Milan and we have a very long drive ahead of us; can you manage that?"

"If it means getting away from Paris; then yes, I'll do anything..."

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

"What the fuck happened here?"

"Eleven men dead and our man, Victor Hanley, is missing."

"Who was he?"

"He was our interrogator – a contractor and very good at what he does . . . did."

"Who was he interrogating?"

"A girl that we seized after the Waterloo fiasco..."

" _Fusion_?"

"We didn't think so, not at first, but she _was_ armed..."

"Well?"

"Everything else, equipment and information, was taken or died with the guards."

"Any sign of Hanley?"

"Nothing yet, but there is evidence of a struggle – the girl, she was obviously rescued, probably by _Fusion_ , which would mean that she _was_ a part of _Fusion_. We brought her here, hoping that nobody would track us down... All surveillance tapes are gone and nothing was uploaded; the uplinks were jammed just moments before the assault."

"Anymore, good news...?"

"Two officers never reported for work this morning – they also never made it back to their apartments..."

CIA Deputy Director of the Support Directorate, Noah Vossen, looked pained for a moment.

"You okay, sir?"

"Do I look o-fucking-kay!" Vossen seethed. "Those fucking _Fusion_ bastards, they die today . . . we hunt the fuckers down like the dogs they are . . . they die TODAY!"

* * *

 ** _The Warehouse_**

Roy Ellison was there to remove the bodies.

"Where you guys off to next, then?"

"Switzerland, then onto Milan – some of our information also mentions Turin," I replied.

"Turin?" Roy repeated. "Did a job there... '69 it would have been, with my mate Charlie – a gold heist . . . went by Coco back then... Nice city."

"See ya, Roy – and thanks."

..._...

"You two ready?"

"Hell, yeah!" Shadow responded.

"Stupid question . . . err, yeah," Psyche commented with a grin.

We climbed into a Land Rover Discovery and Kick-Ass drove us into the southern part of the city where our night's activities were to begin.

"You stay safe, you hear," Kick-Ass cautioned.

"Hey, it's me!"

Kick-Ass growled as he drove off.

* * *

 ** _Southern Paris_**

The house was nothing spectacular, but it blended into the surrounding area.

Our target for the night was just sitting down to his dinner as we approached. There were also two CIA handlers visible.

"Who is this guy?" Psyche asked for the sixth time that night.

"He was an _Urban Predator_ instructor..." I replied.

"What!"

"I didn't want to tell you – it's possible that he taught you..."

"You and me are going to have another chat, Hit Girl – a chat that involves a very large stick!"

"Full of herself, isn't she!" Shadow chuckled.

"You want _another_ kicking, Shadow?"

"Err, I gave you that one, Psyche..."

"Yeah, right!"

"Girls – focus!"

..._...

We closed the house and while Shadow kept an eye on the front, I went around the back with Psyche at my side. I was a little worried how she might react when she came face to face with somebody from her past that she might actually recognise. We each had a suppressed pistol raised before us as we moved around the back. I stopped beside the back door that would lead into the darkened kitchen. Psyche took a moment to holster her pistol and then she rather expertly picked the lock.

"Not bad for a nine-year-old..."

"I could pick locks when I was eight..." The cocky girl responded.

"I managed at seven..."

"Jeez – they're gonna see who can pee further next!" Hal groaned from the Warehouse.

"I'll beat her every time!" I laughed as I signalled Psyche to push the door open.

* * *

I went first, my SIG raised up – I scanned from side to side but saw nobody.

Hit Girl was close behind me, her own pistol extended over my right shoulder as we both moved forwards. Beyond the kitchen was a small dining area beyond which was an open doorway that led into the living room.

We could hear a TV and voices. There were three men in the house and two had to be removed... quietly. I moved forward to get a look into the living room and Hit Girl covered me. Both men were watching TV, one in a chair and the other on a couch. Both faced away from us. I raised two fingers – signalling that two men were visible – and holstered my pistol before I pulled out my knife.

The third man was not visible, hence, I intended to use the knife for a quiet kill.

* * *

Hit Girl tapped me on the left shoulder and I moved forwards into the living room.

I hated to be in so much light, but there was nothing that I could do about it. Neither man was aware of our presence in the house as we approached them – at least we did not think so... I reached my target – a large CIA gorilla – and slit his throat, the blood gushed out across his chest and the couch. The other man tried to react, but Hit Girl placed the muzzle of her suppressed pistol against the back of his head and he froze.

I was about to call for Shadow, when all hell broke loose...

"Vehicle just pulled up – SUV, maybe four men..." Shadow announced. "Crap – another SUV behind."

The third man appeared at the bottom of the stairs and he was ready, two bullets struck the wall behind me and I dived for the floor.

* * *

I dropped the first man out of the SUV with a suppressed pistol shot.

The next man noticed too late, but I only winged him as he dived for the floor, a cloud of blood flew out of his right shoulder. The next two men took cover immediately and I could not target either of them.

"Contact!" I called over the comms.

The second SUV skidded to a stop and three men bailed out; they started shooting at me with a suppressed sub-machine gun almost immediately. I ducked behind cover and hid from the bullets as they peppered the wall that I hid behind.

Just a quiet night out, she said – typical Hit Girl!

* * *

Hit Girl hauled the man from his chair and pushed him down beside me as she returned fire.

"You!" I growled as I recognised the man.

"You know me?"

"You're the bastard that made my life fucking hell for the first eight goddamn months..."

"I don't follow..."

"I was _Urban Predator_ – you might remember me: Stephanie Walker..."

The man did not miss a beat, despite the gunfight going on a few feet away.

"Hello, Stephanie. I heard that you were still alive and that you had left the program. You seem to be doing well..."

"Without your fucking help, bastard!"

"On the contrary, girl, I toughened you up; I replaced the snivelling little baby with the hardened girl hat you are now."

I had to admit that he was right. I had been a baby when I had been pressganged into _Urban Predator_. While I had hated the bastard; he had taunted me and he had made my life a living hell, he had also toughened me up, just as he had said. Without Alex Bishop, I would never have lived past Phase 1 of my training.

"I am not proud of what I did . . . it had started as something good, but like everything in that super-secret world, it was perverted into somebody's wet dream. That was why I vanished if you remember – I was 'too vocal' against the powers that be."

I was shocked by that admission. Yes, he had, rather mysteriously, been 'reassigned'. Maybe he _was_ a good guy...

* * *

"Psyche!"

The girl bolted up from the man and she joined in the gunfight. Her bullets thudding into the wall beside the CIA man. I heard the sound of a shotgun from outside on the street and then the drawl of Kick-Ass over the comms.

"Looks like you dames need some help from us men..."

"I know that _you're_ a man, but can't think who else you might have brought with you..." I quipped.

"I am a man I'll have you know..." Jackal added in a deeper than usual voice.

"Oh, he's a man alright!" Shadow confirmed in an alluring tone.

"Err, creepy conversation needs to end..." Psyche chimed in with a very disgusted tone of voice.

After a few more shotgun blasts everything went silent as two of my rounds connected with the final CIA man. I turned to find Psyche on the floor beside Alex Bishop; he was dying. It looked like two stray bullets had come in through a window and clipped his abdomen. Blood spilled out in copious amounts despite the attentions of Psyche as she applied pressure to his wound.

"They still have a base . . . it's operational – I know it is in France, just not where... Save those kids..."

"I will..." Psyche got in just before his eyes went dark forever.

* * *

We made our way quickly to the front door, the operation was a bust – almost.

"What are you doing?" I demanded as Psyche slowed and veered into the kitchen.

"Setting a distraction – Spectre showed me..."

Psyche found the gas supply and she removed the inlet pipe which began to flood the house with gas.

"Not a bad idea," I replied approvingly. "Go on..."

Next, she picked up a magazine from the kitchen counter and flicked through the pages.

"You take a magazine – Hustler – what's that? Oh, wow – is that _really_ what I might look like down below, yuck? Anyway . . . you stuff the magazine into an available toaster, push down the mechanism till it locks and hey presto, you have a very crude, timed incendiary device..."

"Spectre showed you?" I queried. "Thought that would have been a basic lesson for an _Urban Predator_ fanatic like you..."

"I am _not_ a fanatic and I never was one, I'll have you know – anyway, I missed one or two lessons over my time with the CIA, thanks to certain girls who managed to put me in the hospital wing every few weeks..."

"Not bad, squirt – maybe you can add that to your next lesson plan for the sprogs."

She seemed very pleased with herself – while she still had much to learn, she had a very broad set of knowledge already which I was taking full advantage of. I was very glad to have the opportunity to mould the nine-year-old into something resembling myself at that age. Dave did not agree with that idea and he was concerned that Stephanie might become what I was at that age – an untamed and almost untameable wild animal!

* * *

We left the carnage of the night's action behind, but we had only made it half a mile before there was a resounding explosion.

"What the fuck was that?" Jackal demanded.

"That would be the ex. _Urban Predator_ fanatic..." I laughed.

"We are _so_ going to talk..." Psyche growled.

"You're gonna get it, Hit Girl!" Shadow teased.

"I am _so_ scared..." I growled as everybody laughed.

..._...

We were a mile from the Warehouse when I decided that I needed to let off some steam.

"Stop!"

Kick-Ass slammed on the brakes.

"Huh!"

"Us girls are going to walk – we'll see you back at the Warehouse."

"Okay."

..._...

We each grabbed an assault rifle and once the boys had left, I turned to Psyche.

"You knew him, didn't you?"

"Yes," Psyche replied quietly. "I thought he was a bastard but maybe he was just trying to keep me alive..."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be – he's not the first victim of _Urban Predator_ and he won't be the last."

Shadow looked over at me; she was concerned with Psyche's frame of mind, as was I. I never noticed the SUV as it came close, none of us did until it was too late.

"Run!" I yelled as the bullets hammered into the wall beside us.

* * *

The streets were very dark as we ran back towards the Warehouse.

Shadow was behind me and Psyche was with her. The three of us were very tired, but we knew we had to be alert to survive long enough to get back to what would be relative safety. We were in a foreign country with men after us...and they were determined to kill us.

Our attention must have wavered as we came around a corner and found eight French National Police RAID ( _Recherché, Assistance, Intervention, Dissuasion_ ) Officers and they instantly raised their H&K G36K rifles toward us.

"Arrêtez! Levez vos mains!"

We all froze. I lowered my G36C and let it hang, raising my hands – Shadow and Psyche followed suit. The leader came forwards and studied my combat suit by the illumination from a nearby street light.

"Bon sang!" The Officer swore as he saw the purple markings on my right arm and the symbol on my chest. "Violet?"

The man turned to his colleagues.

"Ils sont _Fusion_!"

"Connerie!" Came the response – _bullshit!_

"Il est Hit Girl – voir, violet?" The Officer persisted and then he turned to Shadow. "Shadow?"

"Oui," Shadow replied somewhat hesitantly.

He looked at Psyche. "Et toi?"

"Psyche!"

"D'accord..." The Officer said and he looked very happy with himself; he went to confer with the other armed men.

After a couple of minutes, the man turned back to us and the weapons were lowered.

"Va vite! Allez, Fusion!" The man said. "Bonne chance à vous tous!"

We did not hesitate, we all turned and ran into the darkness. As I went I heard the man talk into his radio.

"Nous avons rien trouvé..."

 _We have found nothing..._

* * *

We made it safely back to the Warehouse and I was never happier to be in Dave's arms.

We changed quickly and while Dave drove Josh and Chloe back to the Safehouse, Stephanie and I locked up. After we had left the Warehouse, I decided that I was hungry; actually I was starving!

"You hungry, Steph?"

"Hell, yeah!"

"Killing gives you an appetite, doesn't it?"

"I suppose..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, the amount you kill, I would expect you to be forty stone!"

"Thanks, Steph..." I growled as I pulled into the drive-thru. "Thanks a lot!"

"Le Big Tasty, s'il vous plait, avec le grande portion de frites et un Sprite..." I said to the speaker and then turned to Stephanie. "Et toi?"

"Même - un Sprite trop," Stephanie replied and I must have looked surprised. "J'ai faim, et oui, je parle français!"

Stephanie was full of surprises!

..._...

I parked up and we ate our burgers – Stephanie dug into hers with gusto and it was half gone very quickly.

"You always did have a big mouth!" I laughed.

"Says you – you could eat that damn burger in two bites!"

I scowled at my daughter but I chuckled all the same.


	10. Escaping Paris

**_Sunday, April 24th 2016  
The next morning_**

 ** _The Warehouse_**

The Safehouse had been cleared and we were packing up the Warehouse when the warning came.

My cell rang – it was La Coccinelle.

"Sors, maintenant! Paris est trop dangereux."

"Merci pour l'avertissement," I replied. "Au revoir et merci."

It was time to leave Paris.

* * *

Mindy went first.

She grinned at Stephanie, seated beside her, as she floored the gas of her 362-horsepower, metallic catalunya red Audi RS3 Quattro. The nineteen-inch tyres chirped on the concrete floor of the Warehouse as the vehicle accelerated forwards. The red Audi was closely followed by Chloe in an almost identical, but sepang blue, RS3. Beside Chloe, Megan twisted in her seat to check behind her where the metallic glacier white RS3 driven by Joshua with a grinning Hailee seated beside him followed on their tail.

As the convoy cleared Avenue Bugeaud and headed east, they took the exit at the traffic circle for Avenue Victor Hugo where they headed towards the Arc de Triomphe at almost sixty-miles-per-hour. At Rue de Presbourg they were joined by a pair of Audi RS6 Avant Quattro cars, one in metallic mythos black, the other in nardo grey.

Dave smirked at Mindy as he expertly slid the black RS6 in front of his wife. He ignored the indignant blast on the RS3's horn. His two young kids laughed with excitement as they sat in the rear, strapped in tight. The other RS6 joined the convoy at the rear; Jason kept an eye behind, with Abby in the passenger seat.

We knew that the city was closing in on us, we had only minutes to leave the city behind.

..._...

The RS6 executed a perfect power slide as it hit the Place Charles de Gaulle that encircled the Arc de Triomphe.

The red RS3 promptly followed suit, the irate driver determined _not_ to be outdone. But before the blue RS3 could follow, an unmarked grey Citroen C5 with blue lights in the grill appeared, siren screaming. The blue RS3 slammed on the brakes and skidded to avoid the police car before the driver regained control and accelerated past – the girl in the passenger seat stuck her middle finger up at the Citroen's infuriated occupants.

So far so good.

* * *

 ** _The Red Audi RS3_**

The Arc de Triomphe was typically busy with the usual high standards of French driving...

Our convoy was met with a chorus of car horns and more than few irate and very rude gestures. I assumed that there were a few choice words spoken too. We circled the giant monument twice and after causing minor gridlock and more than a few collisions, we vanished down the tree-lined Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

"Chloe – no stopping to shop!" I growled.

"Thank you!" Joshua replied.

We were forced to take a hard right onto Avenue George V as several police cars came careering up the Champs-Élysées. I leant on the horn as we shot past trucks and cars then some stupid bitch in a blue Audi RS3 got too close as I slammed on my brakes and she collided with our left quarter!

"Sorry!" Came the apologetic response.

"I'll make you sorry...!" I growled in response.

There was no time to stop and check the damage but I was reliably informed by the same stupid bitch: "just a tiny little scratch..."

As the avenue came to an end there was a large junction before we crossed over the Seine. I was startled to see a Peugeot 308 stop where it blocked the junction to the left just as several Police cars hurtled down that same street towards us. The young girl in the driver's seat, with her black hair in a ponytail, smiled at us and she waved as we went past. Was it her? Was it La Coccinelle?

I did not have the time to ponder the question any further as we shot past and south over the River Seine.

* * *

 ** _The Blue Audi RS3_**

This was _so_ intense!

I loved to drive fast and it was a great experience for me as I rarely got to drive a car back home. Yeah, I got to ride a motorcycle, and I got to ride it fast, but I got such a thrill when I was driving on four wheels.

"I'm close to getting my Initial Driver's Licence – I should get it when I turn sixteen..."

"With your driving?" Megan demanded with incredulity.

"What's wrong with my driving?"

The car slid sideways as we narrowly avoided a collision with both a Gendarmerie nationale car and the Audi that Mindy was driving. We had reached the Place Jacques Rueff, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

"Where do I start?" Megan replied as she gripped her seat tightly.

"Stop your winging..."

I wrenched the Audi into a turn to avoid a dented Renault 19 and then again to avoid a group of scared tourists who had blundered into the road ahead.

"... My driving is perfect..."

"Like fuck, it is...!"

Megan screamed as I literally stood on the brakes and the clutch. The Audi came to a very rapid halt only inches from Joshua's white Audi which had been forced to take evasive action and was now nose to nose with ourselves.

I smiled sheepishly at a shocked Joshua and an ashen Hailee.

* * *

 **The White Audi RS3**

"Fucking lunatic that one!"

I glared at Chloe and then turned to Joshua.

"I'm gonna need fresh knickers after all this..."

"Tell me about it..." Joshua growled as he put the Audi into reverse and executed a fast J-turn.

"I think I might need my litter tray..." Wildcat called over the comms.

"Dirty kitty!" Hit Girl retorted with a laugh as she blazed past.

Chloe accelerated after us and we both chased after the laughing Mindy.

* * *

 ** _The Black Audi RS6_**

"The Eiffel Tower!" Danny exclaimed.

"So cool!" Anne-Marie called out.

"Sorry we don't have time to go visit, but we need to put some miles between us and this city, kids," Dave replied as he expertly slid the Audi between a pair of buses.

Another car joined the chase, this one both unmarked and without lights or siren. The men inside were not Frenchmen and that made them CIA. The large Ford Mondeo was not the best vehicle for a chase through narrow streets, but Americans thought big. While I was driving a vehicle that was just as large, if not larger, I had the advantage of four-wheel-drive which helped to manoeuvre the large station wagon around the tight turns and through the dense traffic.

As I had made the kids aware, we still had a lot of City to cover. We were now moving independently to make things more difficult for the Police and the CIA who, it seemed, had just joined in the chase. Whether it would help us, only time would tell.

* * *

 **The Red Audi RS3**

The Peugeot came out of nowhere and it slammed into the side of the RS3 with a large bang.

Neither of us were hurt, but we were momentarily distracted as we both looked over to see two French DGSI Officers beside us, a blue light flashing on their dashboard. There was much vigorous waving of hands in the typical Gallic fashion, but we both just shrugged and pretended to ignore their gesticulating.

Mindy smashed the left side of the Audi RS3 into the Peugeot hard, bounced off and veered around another car before the DGSI driver rammed his dented car into us again.

"Megan was right about you..."

"Huh?"

"She says you give women drivers a bad name!"

* * *

 **Twenty minutes and a few miles later**

The CIA, it transpired, were driving several Ford Mondeos – boring and way too large for the French city.

"Standby for dodge one..." Marty called out as we approached the outskirts of the French capital. "Hard right... Now!"

The red, white and blue RS3s made a hard right into an Audi dealership and skidded to a halt amongst other, almost identical vehicles while their occupants ducked down. The RS6s continued on, with a pair of Mondeos in pursuit, oblivious to the fact that they had just lost three of their targets.

One of the Fords skidded at the next turn and the rear quarter of the large sedan slammed into a parked Renault with a resounding crash. With a scream of tortured metal, the car was wrenched away from the unintended collision by its incensed driver as he continued with the pursuit.

* * *

We managed to lose our other tail as we went through a set of lights at red.

All three RS3s narrowly avoided collisions, but the CIA driver did not and he smashed into a Citroen van at speed. We rejoiced, but we were not out of the proverbial woods – not by a long shot... Marty sent us each onto spate routes that he had scouted out via the traffic cameras – how he had hacked into so many of them, I had no idea; it was like he was everywhere at once...

..._...

We joined the Autoroute du Soleil which took us in a southerly direction and past Orly Airport before it turned southeast.

We were all still separated over several miles of Autoroute having taken various routes to escape the City. At the front of the elongated convoy was a wildly sliding Audi RS8 Coupe in Vegas Yellow with a laughing Mathilda at the wheel and a grimacing Nicky in the passenger seat as she hung on for dear life.

"Can we slow down, _please_ , Mathilda?"

"Never!"

"Help me!"

* * *

 ** _The Red Audi RS3_**

Some way ahead of us, we could just make out the yellow RS8 as it accelerated down the Autoroute.

Mathilda had a habit of driving fast, while that was not a problem in Chicago with her beat up old SUV, a high-powered sports car was something else entirely. Mathilda appeared to be enjoying herself. . . Nicky not so much it seemed... There was nobody else in sight ahead, or behind; we were very much alone as we sped south.

..._...

About twenty minutes and quite a few miles later, I noticed two identical sedan's coming up fast from behind us. I had seen them as they had both come around a bend, both in the centre of the three-lane highway. The two Mondeos operated well together and they did what they could to force us off the Autoroute, but then out of nowhere came a pair of Peugeot vans, both were painted black and in themselves, they looked rather sinister.

The two vans appeared to gang up on one the CIA Fords and then they began to smash into the sedan, one van either side and they neatly guided the Mondeo into a collision with the crash barrier at an off ramp – it was spectacular! The two vans then attempted to trap the other Mondeo but the CIA was wise to that ploy and they left at the next exit, followed by one of the vans. The other van pulled up beside us a smiling face stared down and stuck his thumb up and then raised his other hand with five fingers raised. He winked at me and sped off.

"What do six fingers mean?" Stephanie asked and I just shook my head; I was completely flummoxed.

* * *

 ** _That afternoon_**

 ** _Mâcon_**

To avoid attracting unwanted attention, we had taken separate routes south from Paris but kept in constant radio contact. Unfortunately, Joshua had interpreted 'constant' as meaning that we all wanted to hear his _extremely_ disgusting jokes – despite the merriment at Safehouse F and in the cars, _some_ were _not_ amused – Anne-Marie for one.

Eric almost crashed as he laughed at one of the jokes and Jason managed to spill his coffee all over his lap as he laughed.

"I got another one!" Joshua called. "The owner of a chemist walks in to find a guy leaning against a wall. The owner asks the clerk, 'What's with that guy over there by the wall?'. The clerk replies, 'Well, he came in here this morning to get something for his cough. I couldn't find the cough syrup, so I gave him an entire bottle of laxative.' The owner was astounded, 'You idiot! You can't treat a cough with laxatives!' The clerk smirked, 'Oh yeah? Look at him, he's afraid to cough!'"

That was the final straw, I thought, as I almost pissed myself and Dave slowed right down as he laughed so that we did not crash. It was time to cut that dirty bastard off.

"Battle Guy..."

There was no response for about forty seconds.

"Hit Girl, Lynx here – Battle Guy is unavailable, right now... Can I take a message?"

"Never mind..." I replied sourly and I tried to ignore Lynx's giggles and the laughter in the background.

After a 'fairly uneventful' four-hour drive, we had all arrived safe and sound in the small city of Mâcon, which was about 65km north of Lyon and just over 100km west of Geneva.

* * *

 ** _The Red Audi RS3_**

We had stopped for only a few minutes; just long enough to say hello, but little more.

"Hit Girl, Battle Guy – I have the suits and dark sunglasses brigade entering the city!"

"Scramble!" I yelled as we all ran for our vehicles.

The first Mondeo appeared within minutes of us accelerating away. There were five of them but eight cars all told for us, so they would have to split their forces. Unfortunately for Stephanie and me, we were lumbered with a silver Mondeo which drove straight past but which then performed a very slick U-turn and then came after us at speed.

The chase was on.

* * *

The Mondeo on our tail dogged our arse for several turns and would not back off, so Mindy slowed and stopped – the Mondeo did the same and came to a halt a few yards back.

I looked up at Mindy quizzically. She smiled at me before she spoke; the smile scared me...

"Brace yourself, kid!"

Mindy shifted the gearstick into reverse and planted her foot on the accelerator before she lifted up on the clutch – I knew how to drive, sort of – and the RS3 shot backwards before it smashed into the front of the Mondeo, rode up onto the bonnet and smashed the windscreen as we came to a rapid halt. After we shifted into first gear, Mindy accelerated forwards and we crashed back to the tarmac with a squeal of rubber and accelerated away.

"How are going to explain that little dent to the insurance company?" I asked.

"Insurance?" Mindy replied with a smirk.

As I checked the mirror, I noticed that the crippled Mondeo did _not_ follow.

* * *

 ** _Ford Mondeo – Unit Three_**

"You get her, Unit Three?"

"Not really; she got us..."

"You mean you lost them?"

"Crazy bitch just rammed us and now we're immobilised..."

"Dumb fucks!"

* * *

 ** _The Black Audi RS6_**

"Are Mom and Steph okay?"

"Yes, Danny, they're fine – Mindy ditched her tail in typical Hit Girl manner..."

"She smashed them to smithereens?"

"Yes, Danny," I laughed.

"I'm worried..." Anne-Marie interjected.

I was too. We were stopped at a red light when I heard gunfire echoing from a distance away – it was an assault rifle... I ignored the red light and floored the accelerator.

"Battle Guy, where are they?"

"Hit Girl's a mile and a half away..." Battle Guy responded from Safehouse F. "Take your next left..."

* * *

 ** _The Red Audi RS3_**

As we turned out of the side street, I saw that we were in _big_ trouble.

"Oh fuck!"

There was a man standing in the middle of the street and without any hesitation, he proceeded to empty half a magazine of 5.56-millimetre rounds from his AR-16 rifle towards the Audi, but I jinked left just in time. That kept _me_ out of the line of fire, but the bullets stitched across the hood and windshield over on the right-hand-side of the Audi and I inadvertently smashed the left wing into a parked car.

Stephanie screamed out as several of the bullets struck her chest. I pulled out my pistol and emptied the entire magazine into the man as he came towards us. Before the man completed his fall to the tarmac, I had switched out the empty magazine for a loaded one and I then turned in my seat to attend to Stephanie who was writhing in pain.

I pulled open her jacket and ran my hands across her chest – my palms came away clean.

"The suit saved you from the bullets!" I exclaimed, immensely relieved.

"Still hurts like fuck..." Stephanie protested. "I guess I should be glad I don't have any boobs or this could have been so much more painful..."

"Oh, yeah – tits and bullets, they don't mix; just ask Chloe."

"Well, I won't be playing with them for a while..."

I was very relieved – she may still have had a broken rib or two, but she was alive and still able to crack bad jokes.

"Dave, where the fuck are you?" I called over the radio.

"Right here, beautiful!"

The Audi RS6 skidded to a halt mere feet away from Stephanie's side of the car and I could smell hot rubber.

"Okay, we're bailing!"

I jumped out of the car and helped Stephanie into the RS6 where I shoved Anne-Marie over into the middle seat. Next, I retrieved our bags from the trunk of the RS3 and threw them into the capacious back of the RS6, which Dave had opened remotely.

I moved back towards the RS3.

* * *

 ** _The Black Audi RS6_**

"What about our fingerprints?"

"You're forgetting _who_ your mother is, Steph," I chuckled as Mindy dumped hers and Stephanie's bags into the back.

As we watched, Mindy then walked over to the Red RS3, and she calmly opened the passenger door, pulled the pins from a pair of hand grenades before she then dumped them both onto the passenger seat inside the car. She casually closed the door, locked the RS3 and just as casually, she walked around to the other side of the RS6 and climbed in.

"Better move, Dave!"

I needed no further encouragement as I floored the accelerator and all four tyres bit into the tarmac as we shot forwards, mere seconds before the grenades detonated. The explosion blasted out the glass of the RS3 and turned the car into a blazing pyre.

..._...

"Are you okay, Steph?" Anne-Marie asked as she turned to see her big sister crying.

"What happened?" I asked urgently.

"She got shot..." Mindy said. "Several times... But her suit saved her – she may have one or two broken ribs, though."

"Holy shit – are you alright, Steph?" I demanded.

"Yes..." Stephanie replied very quietly as she sobbed with the pain.

"I think we need to call it a day, Mindy."

"I agree – Battle Guy, Hit Girl..."

"Go ahead, Hit Girl."

"We're clear, but Psyche is injured – we're gonna lay up for the night."

"Shit – is she okay?"

"Her suit saved her life..."

"No problem," Battle Guy replied. "Find a place to hole up and get some rest – I'll contact you with a rendezvous for tomorrow... Oh, and Hit Girl?"

"Yeah?"

"Take the night off – be a family, okay?"

"Copy that, and thanks – night!"

"Let's get the hell out of France!" Dave commented as we drove very fast towards the Swiss border.

* * *

 ** _An hour later_**

 ** _Geneva, Switzerland_**

We had crossed over the border at Chancy – we had not been challenged, as we had hoped – and forty minutes after that we were in Geneva where we headed for a hotel.

"Let's go for something nice," Dave commented as he pulled up outside a large building on the Quai Turrettini. "Let's go, family!"

"Good evening, and welcome to the Mandarin Oriental..." the valet said as he opened my door – I liked it when somebody opened my door.

..._...

The moment we reached our suite, Stephanie ran into one of the two bedrooms and she collapsed onto a bed, wrapped her arms tightly around her chest and she sobbed with the pain – the girl had held it all in since she had left the car. I sent the twins to watch TV while I tried to get Stephanie's top off so I could see the damage. She was _not_ cooperating and I did not want to hurt her any more than she already was.

Dave came in with some very strong painkillers and a bottle of still water – one of the advantages of being a vigilante was that you were almost as skilled as a pharmacist. You knew exactly what drugs to take to heal wounds and what drugs to use to kill pain, and in what quantities. We were intentionally overdosing Stephanie, but nothing that would actually hurt her.

Dave grabbed hold of the screaming girl and he pulled her head back so I could more easily shove the three tablets into her mouth.

"Swallow them, Steph; they will help you."

I held the bottle to her mouth and the struggling girl reluctantly swallowed the tablets while she fought back the pain as she did so. She was a very brave young girl, but that moment was _not_ the time for bravery. I gently eased off her jacket with Dave's help – Stephanie was quite strong when she needed to be. After some wrestling and some very bad language from us both, we removed the top of her combat suit, plus the underlying t-shirt and let her lie down.

Stephanie's chest was red, black and blue – it looked a mess and was not far off what Hailee's chest had looked like after her beating. I had no choice but to check for broken ribs – I knew what to look for as I had been shot myself, many times. After some painful prodding and some extremely coarse and vulgar language from the patient, I gave Stephanie a clean bill of health – apart from the heavy bruising of course.

"You two finished?" Stephanie grimaced as I stood back and smiled.

"Lie on your back and try to get some rest, okay?"

Stephanie reluctantly nodded her acceptance and she forced a smile as I gently placed a blanket over her.

"Yes, Mum!"

* * *

"Is she okay?"

I looked at my other kids as I closed the door to the bedroom behind me.

"She's badly bruised, but nothing that won't heal – she needs some rest, so please, leave her alone tonight."

"We will, won't we, Danny?"

"Anything to help her heal," Danny replied to his sister's question.

"That was scary," Anne-Marie went on.

"Injuries happen in our line of work, but that's two people down with injuries now and I have a nasty feeling that we still have a very long way to go. Dave, we're gonna need some reinforcements if this keeps up – I think we need to get them prepared to fly out."

"I think you could be right; we set this up before we left and hoped that we would not need them," Dave replied as he wrapped his muscular arms around me and I leant into his manly warmth.

"I'll tell Marty tomorrow and he can prepare them. For now, we need to eat – I'll leave room service up to you, Dave. Oh, don't forget to order something for short-ass in the bedroom..."

* * *

When I awoke, it was dark.

I tried to sit up, but I stifled a scream as pain ripped through me.

"Take it easy," a voice said quietly and I recognised the voice of my little sister.

A light came on.

I looked around and saw that I was lying on one side of the double bed, Danny was on a cot a few feet away. Anne-Marie was lying beside me.

"What time is it?"

"About ten o'clock – you've been asleep for a few hours. We were all very worried about you."

"How am I?"

"Your chest is every colour that it should not be, but you're still breathing."

I forced myself to sit up and did my best to ignore the pain. I felt ashamed as tears fell down my cheeks. Anne-Marie noticed.

"Give it a damn rest, Steph – you're not a vigilante right now, you're just a normal little girl and you're with your family."

Anne-Marie smiled and I smiled back.

"Thanks. What else has been happening?"

"There's some food for you if you're hungry – and SD has called for you about a dozen times."

"Why . . . does she know?"

"Apparently she was at Safehouse F and she heard everything – she thought you were badly hurt or dead."

"You'd better find me a phone, then."

Anne-Marie scampered off and she soon returned with Mindy and a phone.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not good..." I grimaced.

"Don't be too long on the phone – come on, you two, give Steph some privacy, please."

..._...

I dialled the phone and waited.

"Hello..." The voice that answered said tentatively.

"You thought I was dead?"

"STEPHANIE!"

I had to yank the phone away from my ear as SD almost shattered my eardrum,

"Are you hurt, are you okay, is anything broken, is..."

"SD, I'm fine – well a little bruised – I just wish that people would stop trying to kill me; you know what I'm saying?" I responded and I smiled inside at my little joke.

There was a moment's silence.

"Not funny, Stephanie Lizewski!"

"Sorry, just a bit of gallows humour; I'm feeling a bit low."

"It's okay, you scared me was all – you _know_ I hate being reminded of what I did..."

"It was unfair, Saoirse, and I'm sorry."

"Never mind – where are you bruised?"

"My chest mainly – it looks like three or four bullets struck me, but none penetrated."

"Lucky bitch!"


	11. Mountain Passes

**_Monday, April 25th 2016  
The following morning_**

 ** _Geneva, Switzerland_**

With the help of the over-protective Mindy and the diminutive Anne-Marie, I took a very painful bath and soaked my bruised body – it was heaven.

Throughout the whole affair, Anne-Marie looked like she was going to cry every time that I grimaced with the pain. I told her to 'get a fucking grip' and that I was still alive and breathing, so there was no need for any more tears. Mindy was trying to seem unconcerned, but I could tell that she was very worried too. Dave and Danny were also getting on my nerves as they tried to be as helpful as possible – I politely informed Danny that I could manage to pull up my own knickers myself, even if it was very painful to do so.

Dave thought that was very funny and he burst out laughing when Danny told him.

..._...

I had to admit that not being able to pull up your own knickers was kind of humiliating, so I was determined to do it myself, even though Anne-Marie kept giggling at my very painful attempts, but I succeeded and I managed to keep the remnants of my dignity intact. The combat suit, though, was a painful struggle but the suit was tight by design, so it actually helped support me.

I would never bitch about the combat suit again – it was a bit uncomfortable to wear – but it _had_ saved my life and what might have happened had I not been wearing it was unthinkable. I was shaking and I struggled to control my tears once I had the suit on, so Dave gave me some strong pain killers and we all sat down for breakfast in the suite.

It was good to feel like a family again, just the five of us. During the usual family banter, Dave explained that we would be leaving Geneva after breakfast and that we would head northeast along Lake Geneva and then meet up with the others in Bern. I took the opportunity to apologise for my behaviour the previous evening.

"Mum, Dad – I'm sorry for being such a bitch yesterday. I could have made it far easier for you to check my injuries."

"It's not easy being hurt – and not when you are only nine..."

"Hey – I'm ten in two days!"

"Yes, you are!" Dave laughed.

..._...

After breakfast, we loaded the car and headed out of Geneva. The drive along the lake was stunning, to say the least, and I loved the awesome view of the mountains as they rose on the far side of the lake. By the time we turned north toward Bern, we had travelled a good chunk of the lake's 73km length with just a single stop.

* * *

 ** _Safehouse F  
Chicago  
United States of America_**

An image appeared on the big screen.

It was a photo taken on the north shore of Lake Geneva. There in the background were fabulous snow-covered peaks and the blue waters of the lake at the base of the mountains. In the foreground was a black Audi RS6 with five very familiar people grouped in front of it. All five were grinning and it looked like any other family photo.

There was a small message attached.

 _'Greetings from Lake Geneva – having a Kick-Ass time!'_

I chuckled and called the others in. Paige laughed, as did Saoirse. The girl was missing Stephanie, more than she would ever admit. Morgan grinned at the photo and hugged her new best friend.

"They look to be having fun..." Morgan commented. "Considering..."

"Yeah – at least they are all still alive," Saoirse added darkly.

* * *

 ** _Early that afternoon_**

 ** _Bern, Switzerland_**

We pulled up in the carpark of a large shopping centre, on the west side of Bern.

We pulled up alongside the other vehicles and we found the others all waiting for us. Poor Stephanie was mobbed as everybody wanted to check on her. The embarrassed girl eventually hid behind Dave for self-preservation.

"Well, that's two of us in the body shop," Hailee said as she hugged Stephanie.

"My chest is really sore, but probably nowhere near as bad as yours."

"Bruises are a bad part of being a vigilante, Steph, but I'm sure you already know that, with your background..."

"Yeah, I've had my fair share of bruises over the years," Stephanie replied like the professional that she was.

* * *

I received a satellite call from Marty.

The call was heavily encrypted and it used one of several 'once only' encryption sets that we carried. After the call, the phone, the sim card and the encryption would all be destroyed and never used again. We were going to extreme lengths to stop the CIA eavesdropping on our communications.

"We've found an address in Milan. As far as we can tell, the trace stops there and that address has been making attempts at hacking into us here in Chicago..."

"Who is 'we'?"

"Oh, that would be my team of white-hat hackers – they call themselves _Synthesis_ ; a play on _Fusion_..."

"Okay – we'll talk about _them_ , later . . . you certain of this information?"

"Yes, and we can hack them hard, when the time comes, too, a distraction if you will."

"We'll let you know when we get there."

I handed the phone to Chloe who took perverse enjoyment out of pounding the expensive device to smithereens.

"You are disturbingly destructive, Chloe..." I commented as the fiercely grinning girl completed her job.

* * *

After a short break for lunch, we left Bern and drove south toward Lake Thun and then east toward Lake Brienz.

As before, the scenery was breath-taking and I decided that when I was older it would be great to visit Switzerland properly as a tourist rather than an armed assault team. The weather was pleasant and very warm but the air-conditioning kept the inside of the Audi comfortable and we all enjoyed a fun drive which also included the odd awesome tunnel or two.

I started to get concerned as we left Lake Brienz behind and we entered a wide flat valley with high mountains all around us. It occurred to me that we might actually have to climb the mountains – I had studied the map in Bern and there were a lot of squiggly roads depicted. I just hoped that Mindy was not that adventurous – who was I trying to kid; I was driving with Hit Girl.

My life was in the hands of a maniac!

* * *

 ** _Grimsel Pass, Switzerland_**

The flat valley soon gave way to twisting roads and we began to climb.

Mindy seemed to be taking it easy – at first. I began getting really worried as we began to really climb and keep climbing. I figured that at some stage we had to reach the top and then we would have to go back down again...

We passed alongside some large bodies of water and then we reached it, we reached the top and it was every bit as high as I had feared.

"Motherfucker!" I announced as I saw what lay ahead of us.

"Cool huh!" Mindy exclaimed happily – she must have been cumming in sheer expectation of what lay ahead.

"Not cool..." Anne-Marie added with fear in her eyes.

"Dave, can I walk, please...?" I pleaded.

"It's miles!"

"Better worn out than dead..."

"Stephanie!"

"I'm sorry – but I'm not staying in the car if Mindy's driving on that road..."

I was adamant and Hit Girl or not, I was not following Mindy down that road – it dropped for what seemed like miles and the hairpins... My legs felt weak just looking out the car window.

"Last one to the bottom is a dick in a wetsuit!" Chloe laughed as she belted past in her Audi and headed for the first hairpin at speed.

'Oh, shit!' I thought – talk about a red flag to a bull!

"I'm dead!" Joshua growled.

"Strap in kids!" Mindy growled before smirking. "Hey, Chloe – I feel the need..."

"...The need for speed!" Chloe and Mindy said together.

"Oh fuuuuck!" I yelled as Mindy floored the accelerator. "Hey! I was shot the other day, remember?"

"I was there – you're healed..." Mindy laughed.

"I want to stay healed, too, thank you very much, you damned crazy Yank!"

It was no use – we were moving and we were moving fast. The decent was, to my eyes at least, perilous, and Mindy kept the speed up. I had to trust her; I had no fucking choice! Some of the bends were tight, to put it mildly, and very blind – ahead I could see the backend of Chloe's Audi which appeared to be much nimbler around the bends. The brakes were constantly employed by Mindy and I was glad that they were ceramic.

..._...

I knew that they called those damn bends 'hairpins', but dammit I had straighter hairpins in my hair at that very moment! Oh, shit – Mindy just overtook a pair of cars . . . that was close . . . she was right up the fucking arse of a giant Range Rover now . . . then I was thrown violently back into my seat as the engine roared and we went for the overtake. Despite my jibes, Mindy was an expert driver even though she sometimes got carried away.

The ride down was fast and I actually felt my ears pop as we dropped rapidly down into the valley. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck – corner coming up fast – shit; it was another damned hairpin! Mindy expertly downshifted and took us around the bend before she applied power and worked up the gears again with the paddles behind the steering wheel.

"In the immortal words of Jeremy Clarkson – pooh was coming out back there!" I exclaimed to general laughter.

Oh, no – another hairpin approached and as I peered through the windscreen, I saw many more ahead. I buried my head in my hands and prayed that I would survive the day.

What an inglorious end to my very short life – killed at (almost) ten-years-old and splattered all over the road at a hairpin bend in Switzerland!

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

 ** _Belvédère  
The Furka Pass_**

We finally stopped for the night halfway up another fucking pass and not a moment too soon – I was wiped the fuck out.

Not only had I had enough of hairpins to last a lifetime, but Mindy had seen right to have us stay in a goddamn hotel that some stupid sod had built on a damned hairpin – so I said thank you to some nameless shmuck that built the Hotel Belvédère on a goddamned hairpin bend. Has anybody worked out that I hate hairpin bends, yet?

"Where the buggery did you learn to drive, missy?" I demanded of Mindy as we reached our room.

"Daddy taught me – I could drive a car before I was your age and I first rode a motorcycle at eight-years-old."

"She drove a stick-shift Mustang at eleven," Dave confirmed with a nod.

I smirked as I pictured a younger Mindy behind the wheel of a Mustang.

"Weren't you like, my size, back then?" I inquired. "How'd you reach the pedals?"

Mindy growled at me and for a moment I thought that I may have gone just a tad too far. Mindy walked over to me and glared then she looked me up and down.

"For your information, skinny butt, I was at least an inch taller than you are now!"

Everybody laughed and Mindy scowled again, but she took it in her stride and joined in the laughter.

"She's a good driver – I have to give her that," Dave added somewhat reluctantly.

"Daddy was a tough instructor and I learnt fast – I had no choice. We spent many an evening driving around vacant parking lots until I got the hang of things. Never taken a test, you know."

"I would never have guessed..." I replied sourly.

* * *

"You enjoyed yourself, today, didn't you?"

"Of course, I did – it was a driver's heaven out there..."

"Not sure if certain others will agree with you..."

"Steph'll get over it!"

"Probably – now..."

"Is that one of your baton's in your shorts, or are you just pleased to see me?"

"Some of us are still awake over here," came a disgusted voice out of the darkness as I was about to respond.

"Well, Stephanie, unless you want to hear us fucking then you'd better get to sleep damn fast," I replied with an evil laugh.

"First, she tries to splatter me all over the Swiss mountains; now she wants to mentally damage me for life..."

"I think it's a bit late for _that_..." Dave chuckled. "You're very warm and moist tonight, my love..."

"You're very hard and . . . ah – that felt awesome..."

"You two are fucking disgusting..."

"Fucking, yeah – disgusting . . . I'll let you know..." I replied as I stifled a giggle while my husband continued to show me how much he loved me.

"That's it – I'm gonna go sleep with Megan and Cassie!"

With that, Stephanie was out of her bed and she slammed the door behind her as she vanished into the corridor outside.

"Now – where were we..."

* * *

I banged on the door to the room, next-door.

It was answered by a smirking Megan in her pyjamas.

"Wondered how long it would take..."

I glowered at my smirking partner as I pushed past.

"They fucking?" Cassie asked with a grin.

"It's not funny – they started doing it knowing that I was still awake!"

Cassie burst out laughing and so did Megan.

"Funny cunts – please, no more sex talk..."

I climbed into Megan's bed and closed my eyes.

"I miss Curtis' dick..." Megan announced and both girls burst out laughing again.

"Fucking funny, bitch!" I growled as I buried my face into the pillow.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, April 26th 2016  
The following morning_**

We all awoke early and met up for breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

"Everybody sleep well?" Dave enquired with a wink at Stephanie who scowled.

"It was awesome; I slept really well – Steph's got really cold feet and she snores," Megan responded.

"I do not!"

"Chainsaw," Cassie added with a laugh.

Stephanie gave up and sank down in her chair to hide her pink face.

"So sweet – sort of..." Chloe laughed and ruffled Stephanie's perfectly brushed hair as she walked past.

"You live, Chloe Bennett, but only because the blood might put the other diners off their breakfast..." Stephanie growled menacingly.

"No killing at breakfast!" Hailee scolded as she sat down with her coffee. "It's very anti-social..."

"She has a valid point," Abby confirmed from her seat.

"Very funny!" Stephanie hissed.

* * *

Again, we drove on some of the worst laid out roads that I had ever come across.

Once we had finished with the Furka Pass we negotiated, at high speed I might add, the Gotthard Pass before we finally found flat ground and headed southeast towards Italy. Mindy promised to ease up on the speed if I eased up on my whining.

It was a fair deal, so I cooperated.

* * *

 ** _Early Afternoon_**

 ** _Milan, Italy  
Piazza Sempione_**

Milan was a beautiful city.

It was an awesome place to be able to work and enjoy the sights while I gathered intelligence on our enemies. The CIA were good, naturally, but they had many a weakness; one of which was that they were many and we were few. That made it easier for us to find them than it was for them to find us.

I never actually realised that I was being targeted; it had just never occurred to me. I knew that I was not alone as Chloe was only a short distance away – besides, I could look after myself...

Should the need arise...

* * *

The man approached with caution, unsure of how his target might react.

The young woman was sitting on the bench, seemingly minding her own business. On her lap, there sat a chunky looking laptop which seemed to hold her attention. The man seemed intent on the laptop and he obviously never considered the young woman to be a serious threat, if a threat at all. As he came closer, the girl seemed to slow down her typing and then take a good grip on her electronic device.

The man made a lunge for the laptop, but it was pulled out of his grasp at the very last second, just as his fingers closed over it – or tried to.

* * *

I totally lost it!

The Toughbook proved to be an awesome weapon as I brought it upwards to clip the man's chin and then cracked him around the head and face with the metal-clad computer.

 _SMACK!_

"Do you know..."

 _SMACK!_

"...How hard..."

 _SMACK!_

"...It is..."

 _SMACK!_

"...To get..."

 _SMACK!_

"...A goddamn Toughbook..."

 _SMACK!_

"...With an i7 processor?"

* * *

As I came around the corner, I froze at the sight before me.

Abby was standing astride a man. The man was sitting on his ass and his face was a mess of blood and torn flesh. In her hands she held her laptop, which was also covered in blood. Abby never saw me as she continued to berate the injured man.

"Months it took me to get this laptop – you want to assimilate my data?" She yelled as she drew her pistol. "Assimilate this!"

Abby deftly reversed the pistol and she brought the butt down hard onto the man's forehead. The man fell to the ground and he moved not more. I was stunned; in all the years that I had known her, I had _never_ known Abby to show such anger. I was almost speechless, but I managed to force out a few disjointed words as I cautiously approached my best friend.

"Abby – extreme – wow – angry – cool!"

I made a personal note to _never_ try and take away Abby's laptop!

* * *

 ** _That Afternoon_**

 ** _The Safehouse_**

Mindy was beside herself with anger.

"They are targeting our technical support!" She growled dangerously. "That is _unacceptable_! From now on, Abigail and Eric will have an operator with them, _at all times_. I may be the 'all-powerful' Hit Girl..."

"Hell, yeah!" Megan cheered to general laughter.

"Thank you, Megan!" Mindy replied with a grin before she once again turned serious. "To continue... I may be Hit Girl, but I can only work with accurate intelligence. Years ago, Daddy and I used to gather intel for weeks and even months before an operation. It took us a lot of time – now, we have Abigail and Marty and they have kept us all alive with their skills.

"Without them, we could not operate and we would, by now, all be dead a long time ago. The CIA know that intelligence is crucial, so they are trying to take ours away from us. We kept Abigail and Eric at arm's length, but that failed, so now they need to be protected _at all costs_. The moment we lose their skills; we might as well go back home and hang up our suits..." Mindy finished.

It had been too close and Mindy felt responsible, just as she always did when any member of the team was hurt in any way. Abby had shocked everybody by her response; she was well trained and the girl knew how to defend herself but according to Chloe, she had gone all 'Hit Girl' on the man who had tried to take her laptop. I saw Eric running his fingers gently over Abby's bruised face. I got up and walked over to the pair.

"You did well, Abby – Chloe says you responded like you were Hit Girl!"

Abby blushed and tried to hide her face; she embarrassed easily did Abby. I chuckled before I dug in a little deeper.

"So – you and Eric, err – have you two 'interfaced' with each other, yet?" I asked shamelessly.

"Dave!" Abby almost screamed as her face went very pink and Chloe laughed out loud at her best friend's embarrassment.

"For the record," Eric began, "we _have_ 'interfaced' as you put it..."

" _Eric_!" Abby hissed, going redder.

"Let's just say that the seal is broken and the warranty is null and void," Eric finished as Abby went bright red.

"Woah!" Chloe laughed. "Hal's CPU is overheating."


	12. Into Milan

**_Tuesday, April 26th 2016_**

 ** _The Warehouse_**

There were three operations planned for that evening.

Dave, Chloe, and Cassie, along with Jason were to investigate a possible CIA site in the north of the city; it was purely benign reconnaissance, nothing more. They were following up on the IP address that Marty and his team of hackers had discovered a few days before. Cameron and Natasha would head towards the eastern part of the city – again, it was mere reconnaissance, nothing more. I had an appointment with a friend of a friend; I would not be alone, as Mathilda and Nicky would be in the same part of the city, but I had to _seem_ to be alone.

Finally, there was Megan and her best pal, Joshua...

..._...

Megan was unhappy about her lot in life.

"This is boring – 'stay at the Safehouse, Megan' – 'it's too dangerous, Megan' – fuck that!"

"You've got a big gob; you know that?" Stephanie warned.

"I'm a fully-fledged member of _Fusion_ and I've proved myself time and time again..."

I looked at Dave; he shrugged with a smirk.

"Give the girl a damn mission; anything for peace and quiet!" Dave complained.

"Okay..." I thought for a moment and then I turned to Abby with a smirk.

"Brief the bitch on that man who tried to assault your Toughbook..."

"The fucker dented it!

"I'll keep an eye on her, Mindy – she'll be safe with me..."

Megan's expression at that proclamation was hysterical.

"Wildcat don't need nobody to keep an eye on _her_! Besides... You're the one who should be worried about _his_ safety..."

"Look after him, Megan – bring him back in more or less one piece..." Chloe said with a grin.

"I'll try," Megan replied.

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

 ** _The Bar_**

I took my seat on a stool at the bar.

One stool away from me sat a handsome looking man in a tailored dark blue jacket and matching pants. His light blue shirt was unbuttoned at the neck and he looked cool as the proverbial cucumber. He turned to me.

"May I buy the good lady a drink?" He asked in a pure British accent.

I raised an eyebrow and felt my cheeks warming up; nobody had ever bought me a drink.

"Orange juice..."

The man turned to the barman. The man was . . . what was the word? Oh, yeah – suave...

"Orange juice for the lady, and a medium-dry vodka Martini for myself, shaken – not stirred..."

..._...

As I sipped my drink and made small talk with the British gentlemen, we were approached by another man, this one obviously an American.

"You must be Mindy; Harm was nowhere near the mark when he told me how beautiful you are...!"

I felt my face warming up and knew by the British gentleman's approving expression that I must have been turning pink. The newly arrived gentlemen rescued me by making introductions.

"Deputy Director Clayton Webb..."

"Of the Central Intelligence Agency!" The British gentlemen interrupted smartly. "I am assured that Webb is a good guy."

"Felix said you were smart. Mindy Lizewski, please meet MI6's _best_ agent..."

"The name's Bond, James Bond, Mrs Lizewski..."

"Please, call me Mindy..."

"Not, Hit Girl?" James whispered.

"Definitely not; I'm out of uniform!" I replied with a smile. Damn, he was so smooth and disarming, he could probably disarm a nuclear bomb with a single glance...

* * *

 ** _The Warehouse_**

"Damn – if the CIA doesn't kill them; Mindy will..." Abby commented. "Us too..."

"Josh overruled us; he's the senior operative out there..." Eric replied.

"Megan did back him up, and you know how difficult it is to argue with _her_ ," Stephanie added.

"Who's nearby?" Abby asked, getting back to the problem in hand.

Eric examined the map on his computer screen.

"Dave and Chloe are in the North of the City with Jason and Cassie. Hailee is at the Safehouse and not mission capable. Mathilda and Nicky are close by... Cameron and Natasha are to the east – we can divert them . . . oh, and Mindy is closest; but she is alone," Eric said.

"Somebody better call Mindy..." Stephanie advised.

"To say what?" Abby demanded. "That her sister and her best friend's boyfriend have gone missing?"

"Something like that, yes..." Stephanie confirmed.

"She's _your_ Mum..." Eric pointed out.

"She's likely to detonate a bomb beneath our feet..." Abby grimaced.

"She's not _that_ devious..." Stephanie responded.

"You _do_ remember that your Mum's Hit Girl?" Eric reminded Stephanie.

"Point taken," Stephanie replied as she took a large pace backwards and ostentatiously checked the area where she stood.

"I'll make the call," Abby decided.

* * *

 **The Bar**

They were both very smooth and both obviously veterans of a lot of action.

I ducked away from them as my cell rang – it was Abby.

"Hello – what's up?" I asked.

"Promise you won't kill me..." Abby replied – that put me on guard immediately.

"From here?"

I was good, but not that good...

"Josh and Megan are off the grid – their comms went dark about four minutes ago, but they had not reported in for over thirty minutes. They were investigating an apartment on Via G Segantini..."

So much for a nice easy investigation!

"You're the closest, but we have Mathilda and Nicky en-route," Abby finished. "Dave and Chloe are on their way too, but they are much further away."

"Send me the address – I have two to support me for now; keep me updated Abby, and thanks."

..._...

I turned back to the bar and sat down as calmly as I could, however, both men had concerned expressions visible.

"Either of you two up for an armed assault and rescue?" I asked conversationally as I finished my orange juice.

Bond's eyes lit up at the suggestion, as did Webb's.

"Either of you have a car?" I continued.

"We can take mine..."

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

I awoke to crying.

My mind took a moment to focus, my eyes a little longer. I was in a room and my hands were secured behind my back. I was lying on the concrete floor of a room. I looked up and I saw Megan huddled in a corner; she was crying – that was a shock; only a few tears, but it was still a shock. I shifted my position so that I could see better in the dim light that bled in from a streetlight outside.

"Megan..."

"Josh!"

Megan was no longer wearing her body-armour, nor her clothes; I could see it all dumped on the floor over on the other side of the room. I could also see our communications units – both were smashed. Megan was wearing just her underwear; a black sports bra and some shorts.

"What did they do to you?"

"They punched me, smacked me about and they felt me up . . . they also explained in vivid detail what they were going to do to me next..."

"Who are _they_?"

"I think they're the Mafia..."

"The Mafia got the better of _us_? Hang on – why are you crying?"

As far as I was concerned Megan was, well, she was Megan – she laughed in the face of adversity. Actually she usually stuck a finger up at it – but crying!

"A cover, you know, put one over on them..." Megan replied with a smile but I could tell that it was forced. "I'm never scared when fighting but I saw what they did to . . . when she was captured..."

"You'll be fine; but right now, I need Wildcat and so do you..."

Megan smiled and I knew that she was going to be fine.

..._...

"Can you move?"

Megan indicated a chain, about a foot long, attached to steel cuffs on her wrists, and secured to a wall that constrained her movements. I moved my own wrists – the same cuffs and chains were on me too.

"Why'd they strip you?"

"They found my weapons – all of them..."

"Oh, I see..."

Megan had been carrying a fairly decent collection of weaponry on her person.

* * *

 ** _Outside the bar_**

"Oh, wow!"

The car was just as suave as its owner. The Cobalt Blue Aston Martin DB11 was a stunning beast and sat on 20-inch 10-spoke gloss black, diamond turned alloy wheels. There was a beautiful bright anodised roof strake on each side that contrasted with the overall shape and body colour. The roof panel was gloss black.

Bond held open the passenger door, pushed Webb into the rear and then waved me into the front seat. Bond nipped around the back of the car and slid smoothly into the seat beside me. The leather was soft under the bare skin of my legs. In hindsight, a dress was probably not the best idea – but I was armed nonetheless.

As Bond accelerated away, I pulled away the lower part of my skirt which lifted the hem to just above the knees and I checked my pistol was ready. The SIG Sauer P224 Extreme was fitted with an extended 15-round magazine of nine-millimetre rounds and was mounted on my right thigh. A single spare 15-round magazine was mounted on my left thigh.

"Eyes on the road!" I ordered as I noticed an eye drift onto my exposed thighs. "What are _you_ pussies carrying?"

"Beretta M9A1," Webb replied.

"Walther PPK/S...," Bond added, but he was cut off as his cell rang and he stabbed the relevant button on the steering wheel.

"Bond."

"Evening, James..."

"Ah, Moneypenny!"

"M would like a word . . . if you can tear yourself away from the beautiful ladies..."

"The Boss!" Bond said quietly in my direction.

"Bond, M. I understand that you have met up with HG and Webb. Support them where possible and try to keep things _quiet_."

"I'm sure we can keep things out of the evening papers, sir..."

"The morning ones too, please, Bond... Oh, and Bond..."

"Yes, Sir..."

"Please keep it zipped..."

"Losing you, sir, interference..."

Bond stabbed the button again and the call dropped.

* * *

 ** _Twenty minutes later_**

 ** _Via G Segantini_**

Bond pulled up twenty yards down the street from the apartment and we all climbed out.

Webb was to remain as a lookout. My earpiece came to life.

"Overwatch has you arriving... I'm at your seven o'clock, high."

"Copy..." I replied to Mathilda then turned to Bond. "We have a sniper across the road behind us, high up."

"Jolly good."

..._...

The apartment was on the third floor. Bond shot off the lock on the first floor access door and we ran up the stairs, ignoring the elevator. His Walther remained in his hand, a suppressor fitted onto the muzzle. My own SIG was similarly equipped.

We must have looked a sight; two people, a man and a young woman in obvious eveningwear running up a set of stairs with pistols in their hands... Bond pulled open the door at the right floor and I dived out then came up to one knee and covered the passageway. Nothing was in sight. Bond covered me as I made my way down towards the fourth apartment on the left.

"Any movement in the apartment?"

"Negative," Mathilda replied. "But I am getting some heat blooms – there may be at least one person in the apartment."

"Thanks..."

Bond caught up as I stood to one side of the apartment door.

"There may be one inside..."

"Only one, shame..."

..._...

Bond kicked in the door and I ran inside, my pistol raised before me. There was a single man and he had not expected us; I put a bullet in each of his thighs and he fell to the floor – his pistol out of reach on the table. While Bond covered him, I made a brief search. I found Wildcat's knife, but no Megan, nor any sign of Joshua. I turned to the man.

"Where are they?"

"Vaffanculo!"

Bond slapped the man around the face.

"That is no way to speak to a lady..." he said conversationally. "That knife; it belongs to a friend of yours?"

"Yes, it does... Where the fuck is she?" I growled, as I punched one of the gunshot wounds.

The man grimaced with the pain for a moment before he replied.

"She was good fuck – tight, but good fuck..."

God, I hoped he was just baiting me... For Megan's sake...

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

"Your turn..."

I was pinned down while the chain was removed; the two men were large and very strong so I decided it would be better if I saved my strength for when it would be needed. I was hauled to my feet, my hands still cuffed behind me and then forced down to my knees.

"You wear one of these?" The man waved at Megan's body-armour.

I said nothing.

"Hi-tech – very expensive... What might two kids be doing with equipment like that? Not to mention the armoury that the foul-mouthed bitch was carrying... Only a pistol for you – plus the commando dagger."

With a click of the man's fingers, my arms were pinned and the cuffs were removed but before I could make a move, two more people entered the cell and they were most definitely _not_ Italian Mafia...

* * *

 ** _The Apartment_**

It had not taken long.

"Hal, Hit Girl – I have their location; we're on the way..." I turned to Bond. "That fucker got blood on my damn dress!"

Bond chuckled.

"I'll stay with the 'fucker' and see what else he has to say – I can be very persuasive."

"You do that; I'll leave Webb downstairs."

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

The girl was about Chloe's age and height while the boy was probably a couple of years younger and a few inches shorter.

"Move a muscle and I blow the little girl's head, inside out..." The girl said in a very clear British accent.

The Glock 31 Gen4 compact pistol in .357-calibre held mere inches from Megan's right temple was more than adequate as an attention getter. The boy held a Glock 32 Gen4 pistol in the same calibre, but pointed at my own head. I smiled, but no smile was returned.

"Are we in the privileged company of two Phase 3 graduates of _Urban Predator_?" I enquired.

The smug smirks on the faces of both teens answered my question. The Mafia were hired muscle, nothing more. The orders came from the CIA which would explain our capture. In fairly short order, my jacket and shirt were removed and then the body-armour was unstrapped and passed to the boy. He holstered his pistol and examined the armour.

"Impressive!" He was British too. He chucked the armour on top of Megan's before he covered me again with his pistol.

..._...

While a Mafioso aimed his Spectre M4 sub-machine gun at Megan, the girl came over and she took a good look at my chest. Then she moved around to examine my back.

"Five obvious bullet wounds..." She traced her fingers across the very visible scars on my right side and stomach. "They should have been fatal – you lead a charmed life . . . Joshua."

I controlled my emotions and kept any surprise well away from my face. They were well informed... The girl turned to the glowering Megan and she hauled the younger girl to her feet where a Mafioso seized hold of Megan's left arm.

"You have stab wounds; upper left arm, stomach – others?" Megan's expression betrayed her and the girl smirked nastily and then without warning, she yanked down on Megan's shorts and revealed the other stab wound. "Left thigh, too – expertly treated; all of them."

I bristled at the obvious tactic to humiliate Megan in front of the men. I saw her blush involuntarily with the humiliation of being partially stripped. But she kept it together, her eyes fixed on mine for support – with her hands secured behind her back, she could do nothing to protect or cover herself.

"You will die, like the manky slag that you obviously are..." I growled.

I rolled with the punch that the boy sent in my direction; he was deceptively strong for his size...

"Not bad for a shit-stabbing wazzock!"

"Joshua!" Megan screamed out as I fell to the floor.

Fuck . . . that hurt...

"Fucking muppet . . . you hit like a fucking nancy boy..."

I felt the kick before I saw it and breathed through the pain.

"Any more, bright comments, you fucking wanker..." The boy growled.

"Bright, no . . . accurate, yes – you fucking bellend..."

I drove my fist into the boy's stomach and kicked out at the nearest Mafioso and caught him in the face. Both the boy and the man went down before my head felt like it was going to explode and I crashed to the floor... The last thing I heard was Megan's voice and then the older girl's scream.

"Josh...!"

* * *

 ** _Mindy and Mathilda_**

Megan and Joshua were several miles across the city, but towards where Chloe and Dave were heading in our direction and we intended to meet up with them.

Mathilda had arrived in a squeal of tyre smoke as she had skidded to a halt beside the Aston.

"Awesome wheels..."

"Fucking drive!"

The R8 sped northwest towards a small commercial site that Abby had confirmed was empty, as far as local records were concerned.

I was sick with worry about what might have happened to my sister and my friends; I even had visions of Hailee... What was I going to find? A bruised and battered Megan...

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

I awoke to a violent movement.

"Josh... Josh... Josh..."

My mind took a moment to focus; my eyes a little longer. I was in a room and my hands were secured behind my back. I was lying on the concrete floor of a room. I looked up and I saw Megan above me.

"Megan..."

"Josh, thank God!"

Megan was no longer wearing . . . well, anything! I averted my eyes, but Megan just slapped me.

"You've seen it all before and I'm sure Chloe's got more..."

"Not the point – _why_?"

"Urban Princess didn't like me pistol whipping her around the face with her own Glock..."

Despite Megan's grin, I could see that she was hurting. I noticed the vivid bruise on Megan's stomach. She had fought and fought well by the looks and sounds of it.

"Yeah, I was humiliated about being stripped naked in front of those men, but I'll get over it – we need to get the fuck outta here!"

I noticed that the body armour was gone, as was my jacket and shirt.

* * *

 ** _A little over two miles away_**

Mathilda skidded to a halt as we met up with Dave and Chloe.

"It's been hours, Dave..."

Chloe was beside herself with worry.

"Megan's so young; if they..." Chloe voiced all our fears.

"Let's not worry about that – we need to find them first," Dave cautioned.

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

The Predators were back.

"You two actually have names?" Joshua asked facetiously. "Don't you Urban Pussy wannabes get dorky codenames or something?"

We had actually named them both ourselves, well I had – the girl, she was 'Urban Princess' and the boy, he was 'Urban Prick'. The girl opened her mouth to reply, but Joshua cut her off.

"Don't tell me . . . let me guess..."

Josh turned to face the boy. "You must be: 'Lady'..." He then turned to the girl. "Which would make you: 'The Tramp'..."

The boy coloured slightly, but the girl looked pissed. Joshua, however, was just getting started.

"You two an item?" Josh mused and he caught the surprisingly subtle and furtive expressions. "You two are fucking – or do you just suck him off?"

The pink tints to both _Urban Predator_ faces appeared to confirm Joshua's hypothesis, at least the latter part.

..._...

"Shut the fuck up, asshole – _I_ tell you when to fucking talk..." The boy yelled and he shoved Joshua backwards against the wall.

"You go play with your naked toy and I'll see to Joshua here," The girl ordered with a grin as she moved towards my friend.

"No!" I yelled as I figured out what she meant.

The chain was released and I was dragged out of the cell by the boy.

"Megan!" Joshua bellowed after me before the cell door was slammed shut.

* * *

I stared in horror at the cell door as it was slammed shut.

No, please – not Megan... I turned to face the girl, my face full of anger.

"If anything happens to that girl . . . and I mean, _anything_..."

"She'll be fine – he just wants to look and maybe touch..." The girl replied as she came closer. "How about we..."

"Never – going – to – happen . . . I would rather rip your fucking head off..."

She smiled.

"Nah, you'd never hurt me; not a girl like me..." She cooed in my ear.

"You are _so_ not my type – besides, that bruise, it _does not_ help with your looks – must sting a bit, though."

The girl tenderly touched her bruised face for a moment before she responded to my jibe.

"She got the better of me, for only a second, but she paid for that and she is _still_ paying for that – she's cute and she has a nice body; I wish I had had a body like her when I was that age."

"Undo these cuffs and I'll add a matching bruise..."

The girl ignored me; her attentions were elsewhere as she reached down and grabbed me between the legs – she had a strong grip. Her fingers moved around and she nodded approvingly.

"Well hung; like a horse..."

God, I hoped I wasn't blushing... She popped the button on my trousers and sunk her hand down inside my boxers. I took a deep breath as a part of me began to react to the girl's touch... Then there was a banging on the cell door and it was hauled open.

Megan was shoved inside and the girl left smartly.

..._...

I had no idea what I had expected . . . but Megan was smirking and once the cell door was slammed shut, she started to laugh. She was still naked and I could see a gooey substance on her stomach and it had dribbled down around what passed for her pubic hair.

"Did that bastard...?"

"No – don't think he's fucked anything other than his own hand and maybe Urban Princesses mouth... I think I kinda humiliated him and he, err, he struggled to perform, if you get my drift..."

I did.

"He was a bit on the small side, too – don't think he liked me advising him of that feature – I have something chunkier waiting for me back home..." Megan stopped and took in the trousers around my knees and... "Been having fun? _Hard_ work was it?"

The cell door opened again – it was Urban Princess, and she was smirking.

"You pissed off Tempest; he's sensitive about his size... He'll get her for that but he got himself off which was his endgame... You are strong, Megan – you could have been one of us..."

"Fuck you!" Megan retorted angrily. "I will _never_ be one of you fucked up experiments – I am better than all of you and you know why? _I_ am in full control and _I_ decide _when_ I kill and _I_ decide _when_ I don't kill – I am not like any of you wackos!"

The girl shrugged.

"Here, you deserve these back."

The girl threw Megan her clothes back and my shirt to me. Not that I could put the shirt on, I was still cuffed with my trousers around my ankles.

"Move!"

Megan quickly cleaned herself up with her bra and then dressed before she dumped the bra on the floor and she was cuffed and secured to the chain again. With that, Urban Princess left and slammed the door behind her.

"That was disgusting..."

"So, you and him back home have never...?" I enquired.

Megan blushed.

"On me? No way!"

* * *

It was good to be clothed again.

Between us, we hatched a plan; the chances of it working were slim – as slim as a dime, actually! Nevertheless, we had nothing to lose.

The building was old and so was the stonework and ironwork. Joshua was strong, very strong – okay, I enjoyed watching him when he trained in a sleeveless top; actually, no top was even better . . . just don't tell Chloe... Anyway, his chains came away from the wall – he was mobile. Within five minutes Joshua had his hands free, thanks to a convenient bobby pin from my very messed up hair. I was only a minute later as I insisted on doing my own cuffs.

My hands were free for the first time in many hours and my wrists hurt as I rubbed them.

* * *

 ** _Fifteen minutes later_**

The Mafioso stuck his head through the open door to see what the banging was all about.

I grimaced as I heard the bones in his neck snap as Joshua threw the chain around the man's neck and hauled it very tight and then twisted it savagely. The man hit the floor – hard.

"Where's the guard?"

It was the girl's voice. Then silence – they were coming. Joshua checked the Spectre M4 and stood ready to one side. I had the Mafioso's Beretta 92 in my hands ready for action. We had agreed on stealth as we had no idea where we were or how many more armed assholes were running around.

I had smashed the single overhead light bulb and we both waited in the darkness.

* * *

 ** _Outside the facility_**

The building was of single storey construction and there were lights on as the only sign of activity.

There were no obvious guards, but we were taking no chances, however, we did not have the luxury of time for a proper reconnaissance. Mathilda had found herself a suitable high point from where she began to scan the area for any sign of Megan, Joshua – or trouble.

I had already stripped out of my dress and I had pulled on some spare clothes that I had kept in the Audi RS6.

* * *

 ** _The Cell_**

The boy's pistol was smashed out of his hands, the moment he entered the cell, and he screamed at the pain before Joshua clubbed him about the head and he went down beside the guard, unconscious.

The girl sidestepped her fallen colleague and she kicked out; she had caught Joshua before he could attack successfully. I brought the butt of the Beretta down hard on her right arm and she dropped her pistol but quick as a flash she rammed her knee into my stomach and I fell to the concrete floor. I tried to raise the large Beretta but I couldn't breathe. Joshua seized the girl and without any feeling, he forced her to her knees. Then he pulled her arms behind her and secured the handcuffs about her wrists.

Once I was able to breathe again, I ducked out of the cell and checked out our immediate surroundings. There was a corridor with doors to several rooms, all of which were empty, except for one. I returned to the cell and dumped two sets of body armour and a pile of weapons onto the floor.

We took a few minutes to pull on our body armour and then gear up with our weapons. Once we were ready, Josh turned to the girl.

"Time for payment, bitch..." He growled.

I was a little worried about what he was about to do.

..._...

As I watched, Joshua pulled out his commando knife. He stuck the razor sharp blade down the back of the girl's shirt and cut away her shirt, a t-shirt and her bra strap in one go. He slit the sleeves and then yanked back on the shirt and ripped off the sleeves, the same with the t-shirt. The remaining bra straps were cut and the girl was pushed down onto her front and then rolled onto her back.

Joshua was smirking at what was revealed before his eyes. The girl blushed with embarrassment but no tears fell although I could see them in her eyes. Joshua ripped off her jeans, running shoes, knickers and socks. The girl was naked as the day she was born. I had to admit that she had a very nice body, mature in every way for her age.

"Get up, you fucking whore!" He spat and he dragged the stricken girl to her feet before she herself could move.

The tears began as Joshua dragged her out of the cell and then down the corridor. He was very rough with her and when she stumbled, he jammed a knee into her thigh and seized a handful of the girl's shoulder length dark brown hair to drag her along. She screamed at the pain, but she did not resist.

"What are going to do with her, Josh?" I asked as I covered our movements with my pistol.

Joshua kicked open a door to the outside world and dragged the naked girl out into the cold night air, only then did he stop and he threw the girl to the ground where she began to sob with the pain and humiliation as she made feeble attempts to cover herself up despite her wrists being firmly secured behind her back.

"I saw what she did to you; she should experience the same humiliation... Then she will die!"

I could tell that Joshua was serious; I knew him well enough for that, but I also knew that he would listen to me when required.

"This is _not_ you, Josh – she showed compassion when it was required. She's proof that _Urban Predator_ is one gigantic failure – the CIA fucked it all up and their psychological experiment is crumbling around their ears. I know what she did to me, what she tried to do to me; but it didn't work..."

Without a hint of emotion, Josh grabbed the sobbing girl by the hair and he pulled her up to her knees, the muzzle of his pistol in her neck.

* * *

 ** _High above the facility_**

Movement – I saw movement.

A door opened and then two . . . no, three people emerged. I felt an immense wave of relief when I recognised Joshua and Megan. Who was that with them? Both had pistols, so it was obvious that the other person was their prisoner.

I focussed the night-vision scope – it was a girl . . . a _naked_ girl!

"I have them – west side; they have a prisoner!"

* * *

 ** _The west side_**

"What was your name, girl?" He demanded.

"I . . . I am Discord..." I replied and I had to force out the words.

I knew that I was about to die and it was hard. I had risked my life repeatedly over the years, but never had I been so close to my inevitable and unstoppable demise. I sobbed uncontrollably and I felt shame for the first time in many years. I looked up and saw compassion in the girl's eyes – she was right; she was human – unlike me.

"You're a pretty young thing – shame about what happened to you... Maybe we'll meet again some sunny day..." Joshua continued and then the pistol was removed from my neck and I knew that I was going to die within seconds.

Then it came; the pistol shot . . . I braced up and expected the pain – only, I felt nothing, just the cold, rough concrete beneath my naked body as I fell onto my side.

I looked up; I was alone.

* * *

 ** _Outside the facility_**

"You're alive!"

"What the fuck did you expect, dear sister?" Megan retorted with her shit-eating grin firmly set.

"What did you do to Joshua?" Shadow demanded.

"You said, and I quote: '...bring him back in more or less one piece...' – he's in more or less one piece, so stop your fucking whining!"

I laughed as I hugged my little sister. My laughter was tempered by the expression that Joshua was trying in vain to hide. It was dark and he was obviously troubled.

Mathilda had reported that reinforcements were coming, so we quickly ran back to the cars and left the area quickly.

We headed directly back to the Warehouse.

* * *

 ** _That night  
22:55_**

 ** _The Warehouse_**

We had been back only a few minutes; just long enough for Joshua to receive a hug from Chloe and for him and Megan to reassure us that they were unhurt.

Neither would go into any detail about what had happened, but that had to wait; we had work to do. Dave's team had found something; it was an _Urban Predator_ site – we had to attack immediately. In my absence a plan had been put together; Cassie and Jason were staking the place out while we prepared for the attack.

Megan was out of action – I had to make it an order before she had accepted it. She would go and stay with Hailee and the twins. Natasha and Cameron were back and they were both ready to move. I geared up properly and together with Stephanie and Cassie, I prepared to leave. Joshua insisted he was fine and I gave up arguing, but I knew that Chloe was not going to let it lie.

Joshua told her where to go in his uniquely British manner and she wisely backed off.

* * *

 ** _Wednesday, April 27th 2016_**

 ** _00:30_**

 ** _Urban Predator Training Facility, Milan_**

It was a medium-sized facility, based on a large warehouse.

Strangely, there were no obvious guards, but there was adequate security in the form of electronic surveillance. We made use of some electronic jammers, courtesy of Fox, and gave them a minute to take effect. Kick-Ass kicked in the main doors, which was just a little too easy for a suspected CIA facility.

We found out why, very quickly, as we burst in, guns raised.

"Holy, shit!" Jackal growled as he took in the scene before him.

It was no longer a training facility...


	13. Aurora

**_Wednesday, April 27th 2016_**

 ** _00:45_**

 ** _Urban Predator Training Facility, Milan, Italy_**

It was no longer a training facility – it was a fucking tomb.

"How could they...!" Shadow exclaimed.

"Somebody went fucking Order 66 on these kids!" Josh interjected

I had never seen so much carnage; at least not of the kind that lay before me... I counted each body, from the smaller ones, up to the bigger ones . . . twenty-six in total. I was not the only one counting, either.

"They killed twenty-six kids..." Shadow went on, incredulous. "Some of them are younger than Stephanie, for fuck's sake!"

They had all been shot and my trained eye saw that many of the wounds had been inflicted as the kids had tried to run away from the danger. I knelt down and closed the staring blue eyes of a young girl about the same age as Anne-Marie, her beauty marred by the single .40-calibre hole in her forehead.

I had not felt so much anger since...

I had _never_ felt so much anger...

The anger, however, had heightened my senses and I heard something above us; I recognised the sound of an AR-15 being brought to readiness.

It was an obvious ambush.

* * *

"Stand to!" I called out, just as the gunfire began and we all bolted for cover.

I fired off a dozen rounds in the direction of the nearest enemy gunman and I was rewarded with a cloud of red as his head exploded. The eight of us moved forward as one and we mowed down anybody that got in our way – no quarter was given, not after what we had seen...

I could hear heavy rounds as they struck the building and shattered windows – Leon and Wraith were getting in on the action. Sceptre and Nemesis were around the back of the building; they would ensure that nobody escaped.

With the assistance of Psyche, I managed to work my way up the left flank and into a position where we could strike at the heart of the men who had ambushed us. Psyche was obviously enjoying herself, I noticed, as we made our way forwards; she was dropping men with single and precise head shots.

Without warning, a man appeared from our left and he raised a .45-calibre pistol; it was aimed directly at Psyche.

..._...

I yelled out an urgent warning – Psyche's armour would not protect her from a round that large.

There was nothing any of us could do, but then, out of the shadows a shape moved – it was a shape seemingly out of nowhere, but somehow it seemed familiar. Whoever it was, they threw themselves between the gun and my daughter, just as the man pulled the trigger several times.

Psyche had turned as she had heard my warning, so she was protected from most of the bullets as she herself fired her own pistol at the man; she put two bullets into his forehead and blew the cunts head apart. Two of the heavy bullets passed through her protector and they struck Psyche's body. She screamed at the pain as she was forced to the floor by the impacts.

Her protector landed in a heap and did not move. I ran forwards in a panic and checked on my daughter; she was okay, just in a lot of pain. I checked on 'the protector' and I was beyond stunned by what, or rather _who_ , I had found.

"Hi, Mindy!"

"Miranda!"

Psyche scrambled towards me and then she froze as she saw her mentor lying in an ever increasing pool of blood.

"Why?" was all the young vigilante could say.

"I had to protect you..."

Miranda began to cough up blood – she did not have long in the land of the living. Psyche knelt down beside her friend and held her hand tightly. Despite Psyche's mask, I knew that she would be crying...

"No – you can't die..."

"It happens and you know that..."

I really felt for Stephanie; she had lost so much in her short life. I saw her body shudder as she sobbed and she held tightly onto Miranda's hand. I had been in a very similar position, only a few years before and I could relate one hundred percent.

"You _will_ take them down, won't you Mindy?"

"I promise you; they will hurt nobody else and we _will_ put them down in hell where they damn well belong," I growled back – I struggled to control my emotions.

Miranda was fading fast and I saw her grip on her companion's hand loosening, but Psyche held on tight as if that would prolong Miranda's life.

"Please, please – we've got to do something . . . she _has_ to survive..."

I bit my lip till I tasted blood; there was nothing I could do or say.

..._...

I saw Miranda's eyes lose focus and then she went limp; she was gone. Dave gently eased Stephanie to her feet – she was on autopilot and the distraught girl did not fight his actions. She allowed Miranda's hand to slip from her grip and then she walked away before she turned one last time. I saw her fists ball tightly and her body shake as she cried. Then after a few moments she just stopped and she did not move for almost a full minute.

Finally, she straightened up and she pulled out her holstered pistols, dumped both magazines and reloaded. She kept both pistols to hand as she ran back towards the fight where I saw men begin to fall as she dived amongst them. The young vigilante was somewhat pissed-off; I could tell – each man was put down by a double-tap into his stomach.

A very slow and a very painful death.

* * *

The fighting continued.

I wasn't sure if anybody else had seen Miranda, or how she had died. Some had, however, noticed the change in Psyche's demeanour.

"Someone piss on a Union Flag or something?" Shadow queried as Psyche bolted past and her Sais severed the femoral arteries of the man that Shadow was fighting.

"Later, Shadow, later..."

We all had our own ways to cope with grief. Like Hit Girl – Psyche chose to kill to appease her grief and while I went for the quick kills – mostly, she concentrated on causing as much pain as she possibly could, including slow, drawn-out deaths.

Damn, she was cold.

* * *

I decided enough was enough when Psyche began to disassemble some poor bastard as he bled out.

She was determined to kill and maim until none remained – all those that were still breathing were not long from hell. While Hit Girl enjoyed to maim and kill as much as the next psychotic vigilante, there was a point where it all just turned weird and Psyche had gone well past that point.

"Psyche, stop!"

To my surprise, she did exactly that and she dropped the man's severed lower leg vaguely where it belonged. Her combat knife was wiped clean on the still breathing corpse and then returned to its scabbard on her belt. Finally, she turned to me and she nodded.

"Let's go, Hit Girl – _please_ . . . just get me out of here..."

* * *

 ** _01:50_**

 ** _The Warehouse_**

Psyche had not spoken since we had left Miranda's body.

Once back at the warehouse, she stoically pulled off her mask and she just stood there – no tears, nothing. Dave looked at me and I nodded in understanding. Stephanie was waiting until everybody had left, but I knew that she could not hold out that long – Dave put an arm around the young girl's shoulders and led her towards the makeshift office in the back of the warehouse.

I followed and closed the door as the floodgates opened. Stephanie grabbed me around the waist and she cried harder than I had ever seen anybody cry. Dave wrapped himself around us both and held us tight and I felt the warm sting as tears streamed down my own face. No matter what I thought of Miranda and her previous relationship with Dave, the woman had protected my daughter and she had saved her from certain death – I owed her, but there was nothing else I could do about it, not for the moment anyway.

I held onto Stephanie until she finally ran out of tears.

* * *

The changing area was clear when we re-emerged from the office and the three of us rapidly showered and dressed in normal clothes.

The first face we saw was Chloe and her expression demanded answers.

"If it's not my place, just tell me to fuck off, but I'm worried about Steph."

Stephanie pulled away from Dave and she walked over to Chloe.

"She saved my life – again. Now she's dead and..."

Stephanie fell into the rather bemused Chloe's arms and the younger girl began to cry her heart out again. Chloe was unsure about what to do or say, but she just hugged the girl for lack of anything else to do.

"Where she came from, I have no fucking idea, but Miranda Swedlow was there and she took several bullets, much like Josh did for you – only Miranda died..."

Chloe's expression said it all and she hugged Stephanie tighter.

"I'm so sorry, Steph, I really am."

* * *

 ** _03:55_**

 ** _Milan, Italy_**

Everybody was very pleased to be leaving Milan.

It had been a literal hell on earth. We headed northwest into the mountains while we were still covered by the cloak of darkness. Stephanie, Anne-Marie, and Danny were fast asleep in the back seat. I was glad that Stephanie was asleep; it gave the poor girl a chance to rest as she was completely exhausted after the night's operations and subsequent occurrences.

She was not injured, thankfully, but some more very vivid bruises had been added to her already impressive collection.

* * *

Three hours later, at Bormio, we pulled over for fuel in the town at a 24-hour gas station.

While I was pumping gas, I was joined by a tired Stephanie.

"You awake?" I asked rhetorically

"Yeah; I feel like crap and I need to wee..."

"Over there," I chuckled as the ten-year-old girl headed for the restroom.

A few minutes later, Stephanie returned and she looked refreshed. She had washed her face and all traces of the night's tears were gone.

"Happy birthday!"

Stephanie's eyes went wide at my comment.

"Thanks, Mindy – I'd almost forgotten."

"What's up?" I asked and I sensed that something was wrong; I assumed that it would be about Miranda.

"Can I call Saoirse – it's _her_ birthday, too?"

A surprise, but not a huge one.

"After lunch – they're seven hours behind us, remember."

"Oh, okay... Time zones fucking suck!"

There was movement as the others began to stir and make their way to the bathrooms.

* * *

After the stop, we were about to move off, when I turned to Dave.

"You might want to change cars..." I advised my husband.

"Why would I want to do that?" Dave asked

I indicated the back seat and then held up a DVD. Dave peered into the backseats which were now occupied by Megan, Anne-Marie, and Stephanie. Danny was climbing in with Jason. He glared at the DVD and his expression was filled with abject horror.

"I'm so outta here!" He growled.

He stomped over to Joshua and Chloe who were climbing into their RS3 and he seized hold of Chloe's arm as she was about to sit down.

"Out!" He ordered and Chloe obeyed but looked very confused. "You're riding with _them_..."

Chloe looked over at me and then she grinned.

"Hey, Bitch Mobile – _awesome_!"

Dave jumped into the RS3, disgust etched on his face, and he slammed the door. Chloe strode over, climbed in and smiled at the three girls; then she saw the DVD.

"Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks; totally awesome, My Little Pony – let's ride, bitches!"

We turned onto the Stelvio Pass road.

"Fuck, no!" Stephanie exclaimed when she figured out the type of road we were going to be driving on. "Can't these fuckers build straight fucking roads?"

* * *

 ** _The Blue Audi RS3_**

"That was so damn close!"

"It's not _that_ bad, Dave..."

"What damned midget last drove this car!"

Dave was constantly adjusting the seat as Chloe was quite a bit shorter! Dave had a bad reaction to My Little Pony, but I had no idea why... For the moment Dave was attempting to catch up with the RS6 which was several turns ahead of us. Dave was really hammering the RS3, but Mindy was just that little bit more daring in the turns and she tended to pull ahead, much to Dave's chagrin. It was only when we found a cut-through that I had been searching for on my map that we were able to pull ahead.

It would be tight...

* * *

 ** _The Black Audi RS6_**

 _... First you see me riding on a sonic boom... Got my guitar shredding up my latest tune... There is nothing you can do to beat me... I'm so good that you can't defeat me... Yeah, I'm Awesome... Take caution... Watch out for me, I'm Awesome as I wanna be! Yeah, I'm Awesome... Take caution... Watch out for me..._

I interrupted the Rainbow Dash lovefest.

"Where are they?"

Chloe twisted around in her seat and looked at the road behind us.

"I don't know... They stop?"

"Those two are devious..." I growled.

I was watching the mirror and I barely noticed the dust cloud that approached from my right... Big mistake! With a roar the now very dusty and mud streaked, blue RS3 burst out of a side road and with a squeal of protesting rubber took up position a few yards ahead of us.

"In your face, Hit Girl!" Dave growled in triumph as he accelerated ahead.

I was speechless with rage as I buried the pedal into the floor and accelerated hard. Chloe yelled obscenities through the windshield at the other car. The bastard was blocking me at every opportunity, much as I had done to him... I was about to try and force my way past when it suddenly occurred to me that I had kids in the car and I decided not to drive like an ass – Dave would win that leg of the drive...

There would be plenty more opportunities to kick his ass!

* * *

 ** _Four and a half hours (and two My Little Pony DVDs) later_**

 ** _Innsbruck, Austria_**

Neither Stephanie nor Megan had deigned to talk about their experiences – at all.

Joshua had been the same; Chloe had got precisely nowhere with him and believe me, she had tried _everything_ that she could think of... Both girls were very good at hiding their feelings; but Anne-Marie knew for a fact that something was wrong, just not what. She sat between her Aunt and her Sister, a hand rested on the arm of each older girl. She alternated her hugs with each girl in turn about every few minutes.

It was Chloe that had noticed it and we both agreed that it was actually very sweet.

* * *

While in Austria, we stopped for a break and an early lunch.

"Can I talk with you, Megan?"

"You don't need to ask, Steph; you know that. We're partners and we've promised to tell each other everything."

I dived for the door that Megan had just opened.

"Okay . . . what happened last night?"

Megan rolled her eyes as she saw the trap that she had just laid for herself and then walked straight into.

"Did Mindy put you up to this?"

I felt genuinely hurt by Megan's insinuation and my expression relayed that fact in no uncertain terms.

"No. I genuinely do care about you."

"Sorry, that wasn't fair."

"No, it was not..."

..._...

"The apartment was being monitored and I think we walked straight into a trap. I managed to draw my knife, but then everything went black for a while and I woke up in the cell. I was really scared when they took us; Josh had been knocked out and I was concerned about him as well as what I could do to try and protect myself. He was out for a while and all I could think about was Hailee and the state that she was in when she was rescued..."

"I can believe that," I admitted darkly.

"They stripped me when they found more than just my gun and a knife. At first it was those Mafia bastards, but they ran their filthy hands across my body and I felt so dirty..."

I noticed tears in Megan's eyes as she related the tale.

"I was left in just my underwear which was hugely embarrassing, I can tell you... Josh woke up, but we were chained to walls a few feet apart and we were both handcuffed. Well, one thing led to another and we were visited by two of your lot..."

I growled at that. "They are _not_ 'my lot'!" I bristled.

"Sorry – just a phrase – calm down! I dubbed them Urban Princess and Urban Prick – a boy and girl team; she was about fifteen and he was about thirteen. They were running the Mafia dicks and they were how we had been captured – no fucking Mafia could capture Wildcat and Jackal!"

I laughed at that.

"They took Josh's body armour and that stuck-up British bitch tried to cosy up to him – she examined his scars; then she turned to me and she saw my stab wounds... After having my cuffs removed, she checked me out and then she yanked down my shorts and exposed me to those Mafia bastards and Urban Prick. I had never felt so humiliated up to that point... Josh reacted really badly and he began to verbally abuse the wankers. The boy kicked Josh to the ground and pounded into him until Josh lost consciousness."

"Fuck, Megan – I'm really sorry for bringing it all up..."

"No, don't be; I had to tell somebody, why not my partner and niece..."

"You can be _so_ sweet," I laughed.

"Don't let anybody hear you saying that; I have a reputation to uphold."

"So – what happened next?"

..._...

"While Urban Princess was focussed on the unconscious Josh, I managed to grab the Glock from her hands and I pistol whipped her – left a nasty mark on her right cheek too! I don't think she liked me doing that 'cause she pinned me to the floor and ripped off my sports bra and shorts which left me completely naked, before she re-cuffed me again."

I noticed that Megan blushed slightly as she related her experiences to me and to be honest, I felt embarrassed for her as well as for myself as I listened to what had occurred to her.

" _Please_ tell me that it does _not_ get any worse..."

Megan's grimace said otherwise...

"It gets _much_ worse... Josh regained consciousness and this time I was able to help him as they had not restrained me with the chain. He was more than a little shocked to see me naked and yes, I was embarrassed, but he did avert his eyes and I told him to stop being stupid; he'd seen me naked before anyhow and not much has changed. Well, _they_ came back and Joshua started on them again... The girl . . . she told the boy to 'go play with his naked toy'... I was scared that I was about to be raped; I was completely naked and my hands were cuffed behind my back.

"The boy dragged me off, out of the cell. I felt so exposed and vulnerable; he could do anything to me and there would have been nothing that I could do about it... He took me into another room, a few yards down the corridor – it was bare concrete and there was no furniture, nothing; but there was a ring bolt set into the wall and he led me towards it. He put his pistol to my head and undid one cuff, told me to hold my arms out in front of me, he then put the cuff back on and told me to lie down with my arms above my head.

"I felt really scared as I laid down on the cold concrete floor. He used another set of cuffs to secure those on my wrists to the ring bolt set into the wall. He ordered me to spread my legs; I hesitated, so he kicked them open and I felt myself shaking as I did so. He placed the gun down on the floor, well away from me. Then he came back and faced me; the look on his face scared me and I could see a bulge in his trousers – that freaked me out."

"Ewww!" I muttered.

"Then Urban Prick undid his jeans and he pushed them down his legs, followed by his shorts... That was when everything changed – he was hard, but not all that large, nor did he have very much hair. He began to, you know...

"Not really..."

Megan was really blushing now.

"He was rubbing himself and enjoying it too as he stared at my bits . . . that really freaked me out, but then I giggled and he glared at me. I couldn't help it – he seemed to be struggling a bit, then he came and it went all over my stomach; it was _so_ disgusting and degrading!"

"I'll bet..."

"I was still giggling... He demanded to know what was so funny; so I told him. I said, 'it's a bit small, mate, maybe you should let it grow a bit before you show it to the girls' – he freaked!"

I laughed at what Megan had just said; the boy would have been mortified, to say the least.

"What did he do?"

"He yelled at me and called me a 'worthless bitch with non-existent tits that probably shagged every boy in sight'."

"Nice!"

"He undid the cuffs that secured me to the ring, dragged me to my feet and then back to the cell. Urban Princess' heart seemed to have melted slightly as she gave me back my clothes and allowed me to dress before I was chained back up again. She left.

"By this time, Josh had had enough and he managed to pull his chains from the wall – he's really strong and his muscles ripple when... Anyway, I had a pin in my hair and Josh used it to pick the locks on his cuffs and I did my own cuffs. We made a noise – the guard appeared and we took him down and seized his weapons.

"Then _they_ appeared and we fought. We beat them down and Josh seized her – she was called Discord, by the way. Josh went totally mental and well, he stripped Discord naked and forced her outside where he meant to kill her, but he relented and left her. That was it."

"Would he have killed that girl?" I asked.

"I don't know; I know Josh really well, but he has a dark side..."

"You two have a seemingly unbreakable bond..."

"Yeah, I love him dearly; he's like a big brother to me and he's always there when I need him..."

"I know – without his support, I would have crumbled months ago..."

"Back to the original question..."

"Would I have killed her?" came a voice and we turned to see Joshua as he strode over to us and sat down. "Yes, I would have killed her, if Megan had not appealed to my compassionate nature."

"By the sounds of it, she _needed_ to die," I commented.

"Yes, but she showed signs of wanting to live a normal life; she gave me back my clothes when she didn't need to – she showed compassion," Megan countered.

"That was why I did not kill her – I couldn't; she showed Megan compassion and she showed that she had the potential to change..."

"Maybe we'll find her again and we can help her..." Megan said quietly.

"You have a heart of gold, Megan and you always bring the best out in people," Joshua said as he hugged Megan. "Even some nutcase from the _Urban Predator_ school of wackos!"

"Hey!" I growled.

"You're special, Steph, and how you became what you are is nothing compared to what you are now," Josh said as he pulled me into the hug.

"What are you three up to?"

..._...

We split apart to see Mindy and Chloe walking over.

"Did they just tell you their story?" Chloe asked incredulously.

"I have a way with people..." I muttered.

"Yeah – 'tell me or I kill you'!" Mindy laughed.

I scowled at that, but let it go as Mindy nodded approvingly.

"It felt good to get it out and I'm sorry that I could not be there for _you_ , Steph," Megan said.

"I'll be fine; we have a job to do and I am damn well going to finish it," I replied.

"She's right," Joshua admitted. "We're going to see this through to the end..."

"… and get those motherfuckers that ruined Stephanie's life!" Megan finished.

"Well said, both of you," Mindy said. "Let's get a move on, Germany awaits."


	14. Autobahn

**_Later that morning  
Wednesday, 27th May 2016_**

 ** _Germany_**

"Dad?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"Why is Mom smirking like that – it's scaring me..."

Anne-Marie did look more than a little concerned. I smirked at her discomfort; I knew why Mindy was excited too. We were approaching a section of _unrestricted_ autobahn – Mindy had been waiting for this since we had first arrived in Europe. The speed demon reared its head she began to put her foot down . . . and she held it there.

We flashed past a blue Audi RS3 at 152 kilometres-per-hour.

"Was that Hit Girl passing Mach 1?" Jackal asked as the RS6 flashed past.

"Roger – approaching Mach 2!" I replied. "How's Shadow doing?"

"She's sulking because I won't let her drive in Germany!" Jackal replied "Self-preservation I call it..."

I chuckled and looked over to watch our speed. We were rapidly passing 200kph and advancing on 250kph. As we approached 290, Mindy started to get annoyed.

"Come on, you fucking European piece of shit!"

"Must be a novelty for you – you know, going all out without it being illegal!"

The retort was lost in the road noise...

Poor Stephanie's expression was priceless – she didn't seem to know whether to laugh or cry! Anne-Marie seemed to be enjoying the speed, despite her earlier objections – Danny, though, not so much and he actually looked scared. Finally, we touched 300kph or 186mph before Mindy ceased trying to mash the pedal through the floor and eased off before gently, and expertly, applying the brakes.

"Traffic!" I warned and as Mindy kept her eyes on the road, I monitored our speed. "280, 230, 180, 140, 120..."

We steadied at about 110kph and Mindy had the most enormous grin on her face – the sort she had on her face after an extra good bought of sex, or after a mass killing...

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" I laughed. "The seat must be thoroughly soaked!"

Mindy grinned back at me and I chuckled at her pleased expression, then I studied the fuel gauge.

"After that gas guzzling exercise, we had better stop for gas, sweetheart, or we're walking!"

..._...

A few miles further down the road, we found a gas station and pulled in to refuel both the car and ourselves. Several minutes later, first Josh with a scowling Chloe arrived, followed by the others. Chloe appeared livid as she climbed out of the Audi.

"Fucking stiff-assed Brit!"

Megan laughed as she strolled over from the other RS3, closely followed by Hailee. Natasha and Cassie appeared from their Scirocco and laughed at Chloe's mini tantrum.

Maybe Mindy was _not_ the only speed demon.

* * *

Once all the vehicles were suitably refuelled and we had all been fed, it was time to leave and head on our way toward Munich.

"Anne-Marie – have you been to the bathroom?" Mindy demanded, as she had done at nearly every stop.

The eight-year-old girl rolled her eyes and went slightly pink.

"Yes, Mom – I am _not_ going to humiliate myself again!"

"I'm sure you'll manage to do _something_ else humiliating..." Stephanie commented with a laugh as our attention was drawn to Chloe and Joshua.

"My turn, asshole!"

Chloe very roughly shoved Josh out of the way and dived into the driver's seat where she grinned broadly. Josh just shrugged, walked around to the other side of the car and he barely had his door closed before Chloe floored the accelerator.

"Mind if I drive?" I asked calmly once the sound of squealing tyres had died away.

"Please do, Dave!" Stephanie replied quickly and Mindy actually _growled_! Stephanie flinched away and climbed into the back seat behind me, grinning insanely.

"Thank you, Steph!" Danny breathed.

"Hey, leave Mom alone, you two!" Anne-Marie scowled and she received a cuddle from Mom before they both climbed into the car.

"I can live with Dave driving like an old woman – so..."

Mindy was cut off as I floored the accelerator, throwing her violently backwards into her seat and I kept the pedal down...

"Yee, hah!" Anne-Marie exclaimed in glee.

..._...

The blue Audi RS3 was just vanishing over the horizon, but we were closing – we were buzzed by a yellow Audi R8 as it flashed past us – on the inside lane, which was completely illegal! Mathilda and Nicky waved as they went past, the horn blasting out. Next, came Natasha and Cassie in their VW Scirocco R, but they kept station with us, as did both Jason with Abby, and Cameron with Eric aboard.

Only one question remained: would any of us arrive in one piece?

* * *

 ** _Munich_**

We all seemed to make it into the German city safely without being splattered across the autobahn.

Joshua seemed a bit unsteady on his feet as he climbed out of the Audi and he studiously ignored the grinning Chloe who looked like she had had the time of her young life. If only the Germans knew what lay in store for them...

We had identified a Safehouse on the east side of Munich, a couple of kilometres from the centre of the city. Munich was the capital city of Bavaria and had been around for hundreds of years and easily predated the formation of the United States of America.

* * *

We had barely sat down when we had received a phone call.

"Mindy, it's Debbie Grey."

"I assume that this isn't a social call?"

"No – Vossen has sent a large team into Europe; they tried to sneak in via Denmark, only DSIS (The Danish Security and Intelligence Service) spotted them and notified MI6, who then notified me. Currently they are heading south into Germany. If you are lucky you can intercept them before they can attack you."

"Thank you, Debbie. Send everything you can and we will put together a plan."

I advised the others of the call and we set about forming a plan.

"We need to move fast," Jason commented.

"Can you find two or three fast vehicles?" Dave asked.

"What are Vossen's team travelling in, cars?" Jason enquired.

"Six Mercedes GLS SUVs and a pair of Audi Q7s. A total of thirty-two men."

"So we need performance SUVs... How many are going from the team?"

"There will be me, of course, and Dave – err, Chloe and Josh, Jason and Mathilda."

"What about Abby? Cassie and Stephanie?" Dave queried. "Maybe Megan?"

"We're gonna need to leave the twins behind; hopefully Hailee will look after them. Cameron and Natasha will stay behind, along with Eric and Nicky."

"So, three high-performance SUVs?"

"Yeah – think you can find something on short notice?"

Jason smirked.

"I know somebody who could get us some hot motors..."

* * *

Three hours later, we were racing north at over 140 KPH.

Jason had come up trumps and he had produced four awesome vehicles. The first two were a matching pair of Overfinch Range Rovers with 510 BHP under each of their capacious hoods. The third was an Overfinch Range Rover Sport with a much more limited 503 BHP. The cream was _my_ ride! I had almost 600 BHP of Audi S8L beneath my feet and there was a nice little extra kick available if required.

…_...

The drive to that point had been fast but relatively boring. I had enjoyed putting the Slate Grey Audi through its paces – I was not sure if Megan had enjoyed the high-speed bursts, but she had not moaned _too_ much.

Behind us in a loose convoy was the orange Range Rover Sport which was being driven by Mathilda, with Abby beside her. Following on after them were the two Range Rovers, the blue one was being driven by Dave, with Stephanie and Josh on board while the green one had Jason at the wheel with Cassie and Chloe along for the ride.

We all knew what was at stake; we had to destroy this CIA death squad before they got into a position to attack _us_ and I knew that they would _not_ be taking any prisoners... I was also scared that I was about to make the twins orphans for the second time in less than a year... Cut it out, Mindy! You have no time for morose thinking; you will win, just as you always do. You are Hit Girl and you have Kick-Ass with you, not mention the others.

"Fuck those bastards!" I growled.

"You go, girl!" Megan laughed.

* * *

After about four hours or so we were a few miles to the east of Koblenz when we received another phone call.

"Satellite intel has them about twenty kilometres ahead of you at some motorway services, southbound..."

The caller gave no name, but it was a male voice with a British accent.

"We appear to have satellite support – we have them twenty klicks ahead..."

"Go for it," Dave said. "Get eyes on the bastards... You know how to drive fast; I think..."

"Oh, fuck – I'll _never_ become a teenager..." Megan wailed as I floored the accelerator and as we hit 300 KPH even _I_ was beginning to get a little bit concerned.

It took us around four minutes or so to cover the twenty kilometres to the rest stop and we slowed rapidly as we approached.

* * *

 ** _Audi S8L  
Mindy and Megan_**

"There!"

Megan spotted them first. I counted each vehicle in the eight SUV convoy. It was stopped at a service station and we then blazed past and headed for the next junction a few more kilometres further up the autobahn. At the turn off I held the large sedan in a tight right hander as we came back on ourselves and then roared over a bridge before I threw the massive car into a tyre-screeching one-eighty-degree skid and we reversed course before we rejoined the autobahn heading south.

Just as we reached the rest stop, the CIA convoy pulled out of the service station. They were moving fast but as far as we knew, they had no idea that we were on to them. The chase was on.

"Dave, I'm gonna shove them off at the next exit..."

"We'll be there," Dave replied.

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Dave, Joshua, and Stephanie_**

As we approached the exit, I saw the Audi and it was coming past the front SUV of the CIA convoy, an Audi Q7.

She flashed her headlights at us and then she swerved in front of the Q7. Her manoeuvre forced the CIA driver onto the exit ramp and his colleagues all followed their leader unsure if there was any danger. We all took the same exit and found Mindy holding up the CIA convoy at a junction. Then the CIA saw our little convoy of three SUVs and then must have done their sums and come up with the right answer...

The chase really _was_ on!

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 0 destroyed 6 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 0 destroyed 2 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Audi S8L  
Mindy and Megan_**

The CIA SUVs scattered and forced their way off the junction turning left away from the autobahn – they had no choice as Dave slewed his Range Rover across the road to block them.

Twelve high-powered vehicles now raced south along the 262. It was only a single track road which meant some lethal overtaking on some of the straighter stretches where we reached some ridiculous speeds. Most of the turns were long and sweeping which allowed us to keep up the speed.

I managed to get ourselves in between two of the Mercedes-Benz GLS SUVs and we ran interference to allow the Range Rovers to catch up and cut themselves into the CIA convoy.

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 0 destroyed 6 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 0 destroyed 2 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Dave, Joshua, and Stephanie_**

"We have some tighter turns coming up," Joshua warned as he examined a map and compared it with the tablet that Stephanie held.

We kept up close to the GLS in front, dogging him with only feet between bumpers. Then I saw my chance... AS the next turn approached, I nudged the SUV away from the turn and he span out onto the gravel beside the road and I followed him.

The CIA drive wrestled his giant SUV back under control and as the clouds of dust began to settle I rammed the SUV and Stephanie put several rounds into the passenger side windows – blood splattered over the inside of the windshield and that indicated a hit.

But we weren't finished with that particular SUV as we reached another straight stretch of road...

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 0 destroyed 6 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 0 destroyed 2 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Jason, Cassie, and Chloe_**

"What the fuck, is Joshua doing?" Cassie demanded as she saw Joshua lean out of the right hand window of the Range Rover with something long in his hands.

"He's gonna use an L72A9 on that Merc piece of shit," Jason explained.

As we watched, Joshua steadied himself and then launched the unguided rocket which flew straight and true, right up the ass of the fleeing SUV. The vehicle's back end exploded and lifted off the road and kept on going until the complete SUV smashed down onto its roof in a cloud of glass and sundered metal.

"I forgot my marshmallows..." Jason moaned as he manoeuvred around the fiercely burning wreckage.

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 1 destroyed 5 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 0 destroyed 2 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Audi S8L  
Mindy and Megan_**

Jason and his team were on the scoreboard!

I needed to catch up; my reputation as a no-holds-barred vigilante was at stake… And catch up we did as I floored the accelerator again and Megan swore violently.

"Is little Kitty scared?" I chuckled.

"Keep it up, missy, and this little Kitty is gonna scratch your eyes out!"

"Oooh!"

"Shouldn't you be concentrating on the road?" Megan demanded as we roared up behind a massive truck.

I swerved around the eighteen-wheeler and saw my target as it also swerved out to overtake a slower moving vehicle, in that case, a mini-van of some description. I put my foot down and we passed the eighteen-wheeler _and_ the mini-van in one go, but we almost became a hood ornament for a large panel van. The van driver blasted us with his horn and flashed his lights as we cut back to the right.

"Mindy – we have a switchback ahead!" Megan warned.

I grinned fiendishly and Megan went a little pale as I closed on the Mercedes-Benz GLS SUV. I came as close as I dared and then went for the overtake but had to back down hard as another vehicle came around a bend ahead. Then we were around the same bend and we found ourselves on a gently incline downwards which got steadily steeper and then I could see the apex of the switchback up ahead.

As the apex approached, the incline decreased slightly and I took advantage of this. The GLS was forced to slow down as it approached the apex but I kept the speed on and just as my front bumper passed the rear of the SUV, I jerked the wheel over the right and nudged the SUVs back end. The Police used the manoeuvre to stop car chases – it was called the PIT manoeuvre or Precision Immobilization Technique.

In this case the Mercedes-Benz SUV span across our front end and reversed course before its back end slammed into a tree. The driver was quick and he rocketed forwards to try and catch me as I went past but I was too quick. I had expected to be attacked, so I had put my foot down and given him a wide berth. All he manged to do was collide with some poor schmuck in a Renault Megane. Then, just as CIA driver attempted to back out of his collision he was rear-ended by the eighteen-wheeler which crushed the SUV up against a tree.

I had no idea where he had come from, but the other GLS had appeared and was overtaking the eighteen-wheeler when the trailer jack knifed and swept the SUV off the road where it overturned in a ditch with the trailer finishing up on top.

"Oh, yeah – two for one!"

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 3 destroyed 3 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 0 destroyed 2 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Dave, Joshua, and Stephanie_**

Mindy would be gloating over that twin kill!

I was on the tail of a GLS heading south on the B412 when Jason accelerated past in the other Range Rover and came alongside the GLS. A Q7 dogged my own ass with Mathilda in the Range Rover Sport further back behind another GLS. Mindy was battling for road space with the other Q7. Jason then turned towards the GLS and forced it off the road where it smashed through a steel gateway, then another and then turned hard left to avoid a speeding Porsche 911. We followed, determined to catch them.

"Err, Dave," Stephanie said calmly. "This ain't a main road!"

"Holy shit – we're on the fucking Nürburgring..." Joshua exclaimed.

We had no choice but to continue and do our utmost not to cause too much trouble as we pursued the Mercedes GLS, but Mindy seemed to have other ideas! Her S8 blasted past me and I heard the echoes of gunshots as Megan in the passenger seat of the S8 hung out of the window and she began to send bullets at the GLS.

Despite the high speeds and the rapid manoeuvring, Megan managed a few strikes on the wildly manoeuvring SUV.

"Okay... Found us! We entered on the 17-kilometre corner called Branch Hill and we're approaching the Swallow Tail and Little Carousel, followed by Gallows Head..."

"Awesome, Stephanie!"

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 3 destroyed 3 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 0 destroyed 2 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover Sport  
Mathilda and Abby_**

We did not take the turn onto the track and neither did the remaining Mercedes-Benz GLS SUV.

"Take the wheel..." Mathilda ordered.

"What!"

"Take the damn wheel – cruise is on..."

Mathilda wormed out of the driver's seat still holding the steering wheel as we hurtled along. Once I had a firm hold of the wheel, Mathilda dropped onto the back seat and dived for the box behind the seats. I adjusted the seat – I was shorter than Mathilda and I dug deep for the guts I needed to control the large SUV.

I had never driven anything as big as a Range Rover – just the crappy Ford Focus' that Mindy used for training...

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 3 destroyed 3 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 0 destroyed 2 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Audi S8L  
Mindy and Megan_**

Megan's pistol shots appeared to be having an effect on the GLS's driver.

He was getting unnerved, which was not what you wanted on a narrow winding race track with dozens of other vehicles of all sorts haring around. Despite our shooting, nobody seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary and a BMW M3 bolted past and cut in front of the GLS which seemed to shimmer a bit at the rear as the driver fought to control the heavy vehicle.

"He's losing it..." I hissed as I dropped back slightly.

The GLS began to swerve and then it skidded from the left side of the track straight into the triple height crash barrier over on the right side of the track but it _did not_ stop there... The almost three tonnes of SUV seemed to bounce up in the air and then it nose-dived into the blacktop exposing its entire undersides to us before it flipped completely over onto its roof and bits of bodywork flew in all directions as the SUV came apart.

"Awesome!" Megan exclaimed.

I slammed on the brakes to avoid the wildly spinning wreckage as it continued to disintegrate and make its way down the track. The Mercedes SUV landed on its wheels but only for a moment as it rolled over again and again...

"Woah – was that a body?" Megan enquired as something flew from the wreckage into the trees.

I swerved as something spherical bounced once on the blacktop and came hurtling towards me. It then shot past me and came apart as it hit the road in a red cloud. After a total of five rolls, the SUV came to a halt, smoke gushing from the engine compartment. A body was visible hanging out of one window and was draped down the side of the vehicle.

Dave roared past followed by the other GLS and a Q7. I took up the pursuit after Jason had come past us in the other Range Rover.

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 4 destroyed 2 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 0 destroyed 2 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Jason, Cassie, and Chloe_**

We were moving fast as we made to close on the two enemy SUVs.

As we watched, the Audi Q7 overtook the Mercedes-Benz GLS and aimed directly for the other Range Rover. The two SUVs came together with a crash, despite Dave's valiant attempts at avoiding the other SUV. I saw Joshua and Chloe both blasting away at the Q7 with their pistols but the violently moving Audi caused only some of the bullets to strike their target.

Mindy accelerated past us in pursuit of the Q7 which had apparently decided that Dave and his two musketeers were a little too hot to handle right at that moment. I turned my attentions to the other GLS, ahead of us, and I put my foot down.

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 4 destroyed 2 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 0 destroyed 2 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover Sport  
Mathilda and Abby_**

Mathilda was assembling something.

Finally, she was ready and I saw her brandishing her sniper rifle.

"Pop the trunk, honey..."

I pressed the button on the key-fob and the top hatch opened. Mathilda aimed her rifle and after a few seconds there was a loud crack and then I saw the Mercedes SUV veer off to the left and smash into a substantial looking tree before it came to rest almost bent in two.

I slammed on the brakes and brought the Range Rover Sport to a tyre wrenching stop.

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 5 destroyed 1 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 0 destroyed 2 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Audi S8L  
Mindy and Megan_**

There was about to be the most unbelievable carnage that would shake me to my core.

As we rounded the next bend in pursuit of the Q7, my eyes went wide as I saw the route ahead blocked by what appeared to be an accident – it looked like a silver BMW M3 had collided with the barrier and then rebounded back into the fast moving traffic and then taken out a black Mercedes-Benz CLS. The Q7 tried to take avoiding action, but the large SUVs momentum was too way high and 3,500-kilogrammes of Audi SUV ploughed into the already badly dented Mercedes-Benz coupe and there was a massive explosion as something set off something else and a large fireball erupted into the air as the Mercedes-Benz CLS flew into the air and rolled over the roof of the rapidly disintegrating Q7 which ploughed on into the already wrecked BMW M3. People dived out of the way of the careering train wreck as fire engulfed the Q7 and the M3.

I had nowhere else to go but straight through...

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 5 destroyed 1 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 1 destroyed 1 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Jason, Cassie, and Chloe_**

The GLS was swerving all over the track as it made great efforts to stop us getting past.

But I was not having it and I came hard against the large German SUV. Stephanie it seemed, had a plan.

"Can you do that again?" She demanded.

"What, ram that bastard?"

"Yeah."

"Okay..."

"You're a cold heartless bitch!" Joshua laughed when he figured out what Stephanie had in mind. "Jason – take is in on their left side..."

Stephanie had lowered her window and Josh had done the same with his – then I saw their plan and I grinned in anticipation.

"This is gonna take timing!"

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 5 destroyed 1 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 1 destroyed 1 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Dave, Joshua, and Stephanie_**

"For the love of God!" Dave breathed.

I just stared forwards as I saw a fireball erupting in the air and then we came around the corner and the scene that unfolded was . . . carnage – it was the only word for it. Cars were burning, people were running for their lives and...

"Oh my God – that burning SUV – I can see people still inside it..." Stephanie exclaimed in horror.

The SUV was an inferno and it was possible to see human figures struggling to escape as they burnt. Then my attention was turned to the one moving vehicle – it was an Audi S8L and it was accelerating for the flames.

"Mindy . . . Megan!" I screamed as the Audi vanished into the flames.

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 5 destroyed 1 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 1 destroyed 1 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Audi S8L  
Mindy and Megan_**

We were both screaming as we entered the inferno of flame.

I felt us hitting objects as we went but I could see nothing as the glare was too much and my eyes were closed. As we entered the flames I had cranked the AC to maximum and ice-cold air was flooding into the cabin but we still felt the searing heat of the flames as the Audi was engulfed. For the first time in a very long time I was frightened, so frightened and I felt Megan's left hand grip my right tight enough to keep me aware that she was still alive.

The heat was extreme but then just as the heat began to diminish there was a thud on the windshield and then another as unknown objects struck us and the windshield crazed over in places. Then we were out of the flames and I could see.

"Fuck!" I yelled as the left wing of the Audi smashed into the crash barrier and we bounced off before I slammed on the brakes and brought us to a screeching halt.

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 5 destroyed 1 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 1 destroyed 1 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Jason, Cassie, and Chloe_**

I swerved around the other side of the Mercedes and came hard alongside.

Joshua and Stephanie reached out and smashed the side windows of the SUVs with the butts of their pistols. The CIA Agents inside the Mercedes seemed shocked, but not as shocked as they were when Joshua and Stephanie dropped three live grenades each into the SUV.

"Go!" Stephanie yelled and I swerved away and skidded to a stop on the grass verge.

The other SUV continued onwards and swerved from side to side, then a body dived out, but not before he was engulfed in flames. The entire SUV bulged amid the flames and every soul on board died horribly.

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 6 destroyed 0 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 1 destroyed 1 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover Sport  
Mathilda and Abby_**

From our vantage point, we saw the explosion and the fireball. We saw the Audi Q7 as it ripped itself apart and the people as they struggled to escape the flames – fuck 'em they deserved to die a painful death!

We were both speechless as we saw the Audi accelerate into the flames and it seemed like hours before it emerged, the body work steaming. I screamed as the car ploughed into the crash barrier, but I was relieved when I saw the brake lights come on and the car come to a controlled halt.

Mathilda had her eye fixed to her sniper scope and she was focused on the Audi.

"They're both alive – they're cuddling each other."

"Talk about relief..."

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 6 destroyed 0 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 1 destroyed 1 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Dave, Joshua, and Stephanie_**

We manged to squeeze by on the grass and I raced towards Mindy and Megan.

I stopped beside the Audi and looked across at the two very relieved girls.

"You still mobile?" I asked as I ran my eyes across the scorched automobile.

"We seem to be – might need a polish later on though..." Mindy offered.

That was too damn close!

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 6 destroyed 0 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 1 destroyed 1 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Audi S8L  
Mindy and Megan_**

Stephanie broke into the subdued atmosphere in the Audi.

"There's a problem."

"What's that?"

"According to my carefully worked out calculations and complex math _s,_ " (yes, she put extra emphasis on the 's'...) "we have destroyed six Mercedes-Benz GLS 4x4s and one Audi Q7 4x4. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but there should be another Audi Q7 lurking around somewhere."

"Very good, Steph; those fourth-grade _math_ classes are paying off..."

"Leon – you got anything?" Dave called.

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 6 destroyed 0 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 1 destroyed 1 remaining_

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover Sport  
Mathilda and Abby_**

I scanned all around us with my scope while Abby used a pair of oversize binoculars.

Lots of cars and SUVs, plus quite a few trucks, quite a few Audis too... No Q7... Got him!

"He's on the 412, heading back towards the autobahn..."

"Let's get the bastard!" Mindy responded and her sentiments were matched by most of the others.

"Time to leave, Abigail!"

 _CIA Mercedes-Benz GLS: 6 destroyed 0 remaining  
CIA Audi Q7: 1 destroyed 1 remaining_


	15. The Van

**_Wednesday, 27th May 2016_**

 ** _Nürburg, Germany_**

We had closed in on the fleeing Audi Q7 SUV.

It was now a mere two hundred yards ahead and they knew that we had them – there would be no escape for them... It was four against one and we had the advantage – or so we thought... The Audi seemed to be heading somewhere and not just fleeing.

Patience, Mindy, patience.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, back in Munich..._**

I was gonna fucking kill 'em!

Either that, or Mindy was going to suffer when she returned – if she returned; maybe she did it on purpose to get away from the little shits.

"Cam, if I ever get into a sexual relationship with anybody, please remind me about these two, so I can take all precautions against getting pregnant."

Cameron just laughed and Eric hid behind his laptop screen.

"They are perfect little angels," Nicky commented.

"You don't know 'em, like we does!" I persisted.

"They're just acting up; they are only eight," Hailee pointed out.

"Can I Taser them . . . _please_!" I asked politely.

"Natasha!" Cameron exploded in mock anger. "You _cannot_ Taser a pair of eight-year-olds!"

"Who says?" I retorted.

"Their mother might have something to say about it," Hailee warned.

I groaned.

"Anne-Marie! Daniel!" I yelled at the top of my voice and I heard a clatter as something collapsed in the room next door.

* * *

 ** _A few hundred kilometres north...  
East of Nürburg_**

 ** _Audi S8L  
Mindy and Megan_**

The Q7 turned off the main road and headed down a road that seemed to lead nowhere.

Nowhere was absolutely correct! They were mining something – limestone? I had no idea, but it was white and powdery – hey, I was no geologist; I killed people, I did _not_ dig up rocks for a living! I was forced to drop back as the tarmac gave way to a rutted track – in my place went Dave and Jason with their Range Rovers. Mathilda took a hard right into a grassy field and headed for the far side of the quarry.

She was headed for a good location from which to snipe.

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Dave, Joshua, and Stephanie_**

The Audi Q7 was rapidly lost in a cloud of white dust and I had to rely on the other sets of eyes to guide me as I was concentrating on avoiding anything that suddenly loomed out of the dust cloud – such as errant yellow diggers or giant mounds of white stuff!

My earpiece came to life...

"The Q7 has taken a left between two large piles of, err stuff..." Abby reported.

I had seen their Range Rover Sport take off to the right. They must have been in the clear and able to spot the vehicles as they moved.

"Dave, go left – Jason, go straight..."

I turned left and we jumped into the air as we coasted over a small bump in the track but the suspension easily absorbed most of the shock as we landed again. I saw the brake lights of the Q7 in the gloom ahead and they had turned to the right.

"Dave, turn right – Jason, slight left..."

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Jason, Cassie, and Chloe_**

I caught sight of the Audi Q7 as it emerged from behind a big pile of, err stuff and we headed directly at the SUV.

The CIA driver saw us too and he skidded on the loose powder in his effort to avoid us and dived up a short hill before dropping down a steep slope. I had to come hard right to avoid Dave as he came around the same pile and we both followed the track around the hill and found the Q7 as it cut across our path and then descended into the quarry itself.

Both Range Rovers dived after the fleeing SUV.

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover Sport  
Mathilda and Abby_**

The Audi narrowly avoided being creamed by a big yellow digger thingy but rather annoyingly the Q7 swerved at the last minute.

Mathilda was lying in the back of the Range Rover Sport, with the trunk lids open. Her prized AX50 sniper rifle was set into her shoulder and she was tracking the CIA SUV via her sniper scope. She casually inserted the magazine and pulled back on the charging lever, then released it.

She was primed and ready.

* * *

 ** _Audi Q7  
The CIA_**

There was no talking in the SUV.

All attention was on escaping and the driver was using all his concentration to avoid obstacles and they hoped to get into a position where they could take out their pursuers...

Suddenly, there was a rushing sound and a hole appeared in the windshield from which cracks radiated out. Next, there was an explosion of something warm and sticky and it took a moment for three of the occupants to notice that the forth, in the front passenger seat, no longer had a head.

"Holy fuck!"

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Dave, Joshua, and Stephanie_**

The SUV seemed out of control.

I knew that Mathilda was targeting them, so it was obvious that the end was nigh – for them. The left rear tyre exploded and then shredded as it came off the alloy wheel. Mathilda was toying with them; she could have ended it directly by taking out the driver – but where was the fun in that...?

Another tyre exploded and flew off the Audi and it slewed around and then flipped over in a cloud of powdered stuff. I came to a halt a few yards back and we all dived out with weapons raised.

Over the radio, I heard Mathilda and Abby heading toward Mindy as Mindy was 'very keen' to see first-hand what was happening in the quarry – the Audi S8L being too slow-slung to venture into the quarry without getting stuck.

* * *

 ** _Overfinch Range Rover  
Jason, Cassie, and Chloe_**

It was over.

The final vehicle had been destroyed. Three men were still alive – for the moment. All three men were dragged out of the vehicle where they were laid face down and their hands were secured with plastic zip-ties. Mindy appeared with Abby in the Range Rover Sport.

Dave and Joshua were searching the Audi Q7 and they came up trumps. This particular Audi was the lead vehicle and it had been carrying as paper copy of their orders which had not been destroyed in any way. Abby collected all electronic devices and placed each of them in their own Faraday bag. I was impressed, _Fusion_ was a slick and very professional organisation.

Mindy was reading through the papers.

"Holy shit!"

* * *

 ** _Audi S8L  
Mindy, Joshua, and Megan_**

We were heading south again within twenty minutes and we intended to put as much distance between us and the wrecked vehicles that we had left strewn around the German countryside – not to mention the dead bodies.

I had a lot of reading to do and that had meant another driver; I had nominated Joshua, so Megan was relegated to the back seat where she was fast asleep. The miles flew past as we got closer and closer to Munich and the twins; I missed them a lot and I had never been this far from them, ever.

The papers that we had obtained were hot – burning hot!

* * *

 ** _Late that night_**

 ** _The Munich Safehouse_**

"Mom!"

I was _so_ relieved to see them both and to know that they were safe and sound. Natasha looked very annoyed and also relieved – no idea why. After a meal and some time with the twins, it was time for bed. We would have a very big day ahead of us, so rest was critical for us all.

Actually, Dave and I were so tired that we started something, but then we both fell asleep before much occurred.

* * *

 ** _Early the following morning_**

 ** _Thursday, 28th April 2016_**

Everybody was up by ten that morning.

By eleven that morning we had started our briefing.

"Okay – we now know that they were not after us; at least not directly, they were heading to escort some critical data out of the country and back to the United States. That data has something to do with _Urban Predator_ and _we_ are going to retrieve it, first.

"Our task for today is to track down that data and figure out a way to seize it. The papers that we captured give us details on the protective measures involved – the CIA are taking no chances, so we will only have one chance at this…"

"Thanks, Mindy. Jason is returning our vehicles today..." Dave continued.

"Hopefully, they won't notice the bangs, scratches, dents . . . bullet holes..." Jason said dryly.

"No hope of that!" Chloe laughed.

* * *

Three hours of skulking around to the north of Munich had proved to be time well spent as we had found the damn van.

"One thing we do know, is that if we simply ambush the van and force it to stop, the computers will be wiped. It must be taken on the move but I see no easy way to do that..." I commented.

There was continued discussion between Dave, myself, Nicky and Jason, with input from the others, but nothing came of all the brain-storming. Then the dubious duo had an idea...

"Steph and I had the idea that _we_ could recover that disk... We know that it is in the van; we can board it – the van – and just take it. They're keeping it mobile; so we board the van while on the move _before_ they can destroy the data. Simples."

"No way!" I retorted.

"We need the intel, right?" Stephanie retorted in kind.

"Is this because we're girls?" Megan cut in facetiously.

"Seriously?" I growled incredulously.

"We can do it; our small size will make it easier – you ain't got the monopoly for jumping onto moving vans and then taking over said van," Stephanie grumbled. "Our compact size will be an asset..."

"They have a point, Mindy – you did it only with Marcus' pistol and nothing else," Dave pointed out. "They'll have the use of special equipment and _Fusion_ support."

"But... Oh, hell – alright; they have a valid point and they are _both_ more than capable..."

"You ready, Wildkitty?" Stephanie asked.

"Damn right, Psycho – let's pony up!" Megan replied with a grin.

"How the fuck did you two even _know_ about that van? Dave!" I challenged.

"Don't look at me!" Dave responded, all innocent.

"You two been talking to Morgan?"

"Maybe..."

* * *

 ** _That night_**

It was dark, very dark.

The three vehicles moved fast across the muddy terrain. The two outer vehicles were Land Rover Discoveries; both painted in a very dark green and covered in mud; a direct and purposeful result of some earlier off-roading. As a result; the two vehicles, plus the third, a Range Rover Sport, were all but invisible in the night.

The drivers: Kick-Ass, Spectre and Leon, were keeping in a loose inverted 'V' shaped formation, the Range Rover being at the tip of the 'V' with Leon at the wheel. In each passenger seat was a vigilante; Shadow with Spectre, Jackal with Leon, and Hit Girl with Kick-Ass.

On the roof of the right hand Land Rover that was being driven by Kick-Ass, were three forms.

* * *

 ** _The Discovery Roof_**

"This is most definitely a first..." Psyche commented as she kept a tight grip on the straps that held her to the roof-rack of the Discovery.

"For me, too..." Wildcat replied as she lay beside her partner and hung on for dear life.

"Hold on tight, you two; we'd hate to lose either of you..." Crimson chuckled from behind them as, she too, held on tightly.

"Can somebody remind me; why did I volunteer for this?" Drift moaned from the roof of the other Discovery.

"Quit your bloody moaning!" Nemesis laughed from her position beside Drift.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl and Kick-Ass_**

The van was, itself, off-road, hence the need for the 4x4 vehicles.

Everybody was using night-vision equipment, which therefore allowed a stealthy approach with lights off. The three vehicles changed their formation and reformed into a staggered line to the left so that only the Discovery with Wildcat and Psyche onboard were anywhere near the van.

"It's time, people – execute!" I ordered; Kick-Ass accelerated and we closed on the van.

The van was easy to see in the darkness via our NVGs and as far as I could make out, we had not been seen... I guided Kick-Ass into position as we approached.

"Closer . . . closer . . . slower . . . closer . . . tiny bit faster . . . looking good – Wildcat, Psyche, Crimson, stand by!"

* * *

 ** _The Discovery Roof  
Psyche_**

We kept a good grip on the safety strap as we all stood up.

Crimson was there as a safety measure; just in case something happened to either of us as we jumped from one vehicle to the other.

"Kick-Ass, standby – keep it steady..." Crimson relayed.

I looked over at Wildcat; she betrayed no apprehension, but the tone of her voice said otherwise – I had to admit that I felt just the same!

"You ready, partner?" She inquired.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friend, once more!" I replied.

"Bloody Brits!" I heard Hit Girl moan.

I braced myself; kept my eye on my landing point and ran the specifications through my mind again – the Mercedes-Benz van was almost seven metres long and had a roof that was a little over four metres in length and just under two metres in width. We both had about eight square metres to land in, otherwise...

The high-roof was plastic and that would allow for both a quiet landing as well as to allow our gauntlet spikes to grip into the roof on landing.

"Standby, Wildcat! Standby, Psyche!" Crimson called out. "Three – two – one..."

I leapt into the darkness...

* * *

 ** _Wildcat_**

I leapt into the darkness...

I targeted the centre of the roof while Psyche aimed for the rear section. We jumped together and . . . we missed...

 _Just kidding!_

As if we would – _honestly_!

I landed and allowed my legs to collapse beneath me as I dug the spikes on my lower arms into the plastic roof; they held fast. Behind me, I could see Psyche as she dug her own spikes in; we were both aboard.

"The pre-teens from hell, have landed," Crimson advised the team.

The operation was underway.

* * *

 ** _Psyche_**

I moved up close to Wildcat.

The roof was plenty wide enough for us both to lay side-by-side as we prepared to make our entry into the van. I reached over with my left hand and pulled out a length of detcord from Wildcat's backpack. As I fed it out, Wildcat stuck it to the roof of the van in the shape of a large rectangle. The length of detcord was pre-cut and pre-terminated with a detonator.

"Detcord secured," Wildcat advised.

"Detonating in five..." I added and we both turned our faces away from the detcord.

Four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . I pressed the button on the detonator and just milliseconds later, there was a dull crump as a two-foot-square section of the roof vanished. We both moved as one and dropped into the van's interior before those inside could react to the explosives.

..._...

There were six men in the van – although that very quickly changed to five living and one dead man... One man was unfortunate enough to have received the severed section of roof on his head and he was stunned, so I blew his head off with my P30SK.

Wildcat gave me a look.

"He looked like he was suffering..."

Wildcat shrugged and she deployed her claws into the next pair of men and sent blood spraying down the length of the van. The man at the computer desk reached for his keyboard, only, his hands never made it but his severed wrists did as Wildcat brought her Wakizashi down in a single swift movement.

The man had barely registered what had happened; his eyes absorbed the blood as it erupted from his truncated limbs and soaked the desk before him. Belatedly, he screamed bloody murder – at least he died accurately...

Wildcat dived forwards as the van began to swerve from side to side – the driver was apparently more than a little unhappy about what was occurring behind him... I dived towards the computer equipment and ran my eyes across each item – bingo!

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl and Kick-Ass_**

I don't know _why_ I felt anxious; it had only been mere seconds since they had detonated the explosives.

My problem was that they were out of sight and anything could be happening within that van which had begun to swerve erratically and it skidded around in the mud – Kick-Ass altered course to avoid a collision. I saw movement in the front of the van and then my NVGs showed a cloud of something hot as it hit the windscreen – I smiled to myself as yet another cloud exploded on the far side of the van.

The girls seemed to be having fun!

..._...

Then, moments later, the rear doors of the van burst open.

I took a deep breath as two small shapes dived out and rolled into tight balls as they hit the ground; both balls spun across the mud. I had heard the exclamations of both girls as they had struck the ground; their impact cushioned by the soft, soggy mud that liberally covered the area. The van continued to drive forwards as the two muddy bundles rolled across the road – then the van came apart as the explosives left behind by the girls detonated violently.

The wrecked van was now a convertible, its sides bowed outwards and it continued forwards a few more yards before it ground to a halt and burnt furiously.

"It's a hot day in hell, boys!" Wildcat declared as she lay on her back in the mud and watched her handy work from a few hundred yards away.

"I smell a barbecue – maybe we should get some of Hit Girl's marshmallows..." Psyche added.

"You two having fun?" I chuckled as we drove towards them.

"First you see me, riding on a fucking van..." Wildcat sang.

"... Got my H&K, shredding up my latest kill..." Psyche added.

"... There is nothing you can do to beat us; we're so good that you can't defeat us," both girls sang together. "Yeah, we're awesome, take caution; watch out for us, we're awesome as we wanna be!"

"Only you two could sing My Little Pony tunes after blowing up a goddamn van!" I growled back as the two young girls began to giggle. "You get it?"

Psyche held up her hands, a small box visible in her right gauntlet. "Hell, yeah!" she replied through her giggles.

"Fucking nutcases, the both of 'em!" Jackal growled.

* * *

I climbed out of the Land Rover and trudged through the mud to where the two girls lay on the ground.

"Very good!" I said as I took custody of the small piece of computer hardware and tucked it inside my combat suit.

I reached down and hauled first Psyche and then Wildcat to their feet. I looked them both up and down.

"What?" Psyche demanded.

"Neither of you are getting into any of these vehicles like that!" I warned.

Both girls were quite literally covered in mud from head to toe.

"You expect us to strip, out here, in the middle of fucking nowhere?" Psyche growled. "It's fucking freezing, not to mention child abuse!"

"It's either that or you're both walking..."

"It's not like you've got anything to see..." Wildcat pointed out to Psyche in a bitchy tone.

"That's _not_ the point . . . I can hear Jackal grinning from here . . . You're a bitch, Hit Girl!"

"That I am..." I laughed as the two girls began to remove their muddy combat suits.

I did take pity on them and I allowed them to use the tailgate on the Range Rover to sit on while they stripped. Jackal's snide comments ensured that both girls were blushing as they performed their striptease in the middle of the German countryside in the dead of night, as a van burnt with half-a-dozen dead corpses inside, only a short distance away.

"Happy?" Stephanie growled as she climbed into the back seat of the Range Rover.

"Yeah," I laughed. "Nice choice in knickers – was that Rainbow Dash I saw?"

"Hey, leave Rainbow Dash alone; she's a pony vigilante at heart!"

* * *

 ** _The Safehouse_**

"That was a fun night!" Megan said as she finished washing her hair.

"It was fun, yeah – something different, too," I replied.

"We make the perfect team, Steph."

"We do, don't we."

"I'm starving – fancy something to eat?"

"Definitely..."

"Girls!"

"Yeah, Mindy."

"Don't forget to change the tags on the SUVs."

"We won't."

* * *

 ** _Friday, 29th April 2016  
Early Morning_**

I was now little more than the damn car washer!

Mind you, it had only been five days since I had been beaten to within an inch of my life and an amazing amount had happened in those few days. Coming to terms with what I had suffered was going to take a while. The abuse had occurred while I had been Hailee and _not_ Petra – somehow, that had made me feel a lot better. If I had been defeated as Petra, then that would have been very bad and I had no idea if I would have ever been able to come back from that.

I had talked to Mindy about it and she had told me about that night, long before, at the penthouse where she had been all but defeated herself. Mindy had told me that her almost defeat had haunted her for a while, but that Dave had helped her get past it. She also advised me not to dwell on defeats; it would damage my performance. So I just tried to block it out and I focused on the moment instead.

I was in a lot of pain, despite the painkillers and even something as basic as driving put strain on parts of my body that still ached.

"Sure you don't want me to drive?"

I looked to my right and smiled at the ten-year-old girl.

"Did you bring your drivers permit?"

"Funny – they don't give 'em to ten-year-olds, but I _can_ drive, you know."

"I don't doubt it, Steph, but it's _so_ not happening..."

"I can live with that – let's get this thing washed, then."

..._...

The Range Rover Sport was now cleaner than when it had been new. The temporary mud camo scheme was gone and we were about a mile from the carwash and on the way back to the Safehouse to collect the next vehicle when a large Mercedes-AMG SUV pulled up alongside us. The windows were tinted and it was black in colour. Nothing out of the ordinary – we were in Germany after all.

Another, identical, SUV was coming up behind us.

"I think we've got a problem, Steph..."

Stephanie looked around at the two Merc SUVs.

"You may be right – floor it!"

I did just that and the three-litre V6 diesel accelerated us down the Munich street.

* * *

Unfortunately for us, the Mercs were the AMG variant and appeared to be fitted with the 5.5-litre V8 bi-turbo model which meant that we could _not_ outrun them.

As we reached an open stretch of Rosenheimer Straße, they both made their move and we had one on each side of us. The one to the left opened both side windows and I felt myself go cold as a pair of Heckler & Koch 416 A5 assault rifles with attached suppressors appeared.

Both weapons were discharged at the same time and I hated myself for admitting it, but I screamed as the 5.56-mm bullets struck the side of the Range Rover Sport alongside Hailee who flinched but kept her eyes on the road ahead; the glazing held, despite being heavily pockmarked by the bullets. Mindy had obviously chosen her armoured vehicle well.

I actually smiled as I caught the expressions on the faces of the gunmen; they seemed pissed for some reason or other.

* * *

 ** _The Safehouse_**

"Fusion – we have contact!"

I span around to stare at the radio on the table as I heard Stephanie's voice.

"Where are they?"

"About six miles away – they were headed towards us," Abby replied. "They must have been ambushed."

"How...?" I asked myself, then I had a thought. "Megan, did you two change the tags last night?"

"Yeah..." Megan began as she walked over to where the tags were.

She picked up a set of plates – they were brand new and very clean. The girl looked horror-struck by the revelation.

"Fuck!" I growled.

* * *

 ** _The Range Rover Sport_**

I put my window down a couple of inches and sent a few bullets from my pistol towards the Merc SUV on my side of the car.

Damn!

"Armoured, too?" Hailee asked.

"Yeah!" I growled as I put my window back up and that was when Mindy called.

"You two having fun out there?"

"Just a normal day at the car wash!" I growled back in response.

"We're heading in your direction now – tell us what you're up against."

"Two Merc AMG armoured 4x4 vehicles," I replied.

"We can deal with that..." Mindy replied cryptically. "Take the slip down to the southern stretch of the Isar Rriver off Zeppelinstraße at the Maximiliansanlagen. Head along the gravel banks towards the west, past the museum."

I looked over at Hailee who just shrugged.

..._...

Hailee had some really good driving skills and that kept us ahead of the Merc 4x4s – not far, but enough to allow us to get close to our destination.

Neither of us had any idea what Mindy had in mind, nor did we have any idea how she might actually get rid of two armoured vehicles! Nevertheless, we found our way down to the riverbed and surfed our way through the water and the gravel. We moved at less thirty miles per hour and less than twenty in places, but we kept moving steadily forwards.

We raced beneath the Zenneckbrücke bridge and then approached the bridge beyond the German Museum called Corneliusbrücke and I saw two people standing on the bridge – they were aiming something _at_ us.

"Hailee!" I shouted, just as I saw two bolts of flame and then two rockets shot towards us.

* * *

 ** _Corneliusbrücke_**

I watched the unguided rockets fly straight and true, past the Range Rover Sport, and into each of the pursuing Mercedes SUVs.

They never knew what had hit them as their vehicles exploded into flames and rolled to a stop in the water. The Range Rover Sport continued on under the bridge and climbed up the right side of the weir onto firmer ground before the SUV made its way towards land.

"Kentucky Fried..."

"Don't say it!" I interrupted my daughter.

* * *

 ** _The Safehouse_**

They were back at the Safehouse before we ourselves arrived back.

I climbed out of the Discovery and glared at the Range Rover Sport, followed by Stephanie and Hailee. The SUV was covered in mud and the bodywork on one side was peppered with bullet damage.

"Well that's the last bloody time I send you two to wash a car!" I growled.

* * *

 ** _An hour later_**

"Hailee?"

"Yeah, Steph."

"I am so sorry for putting your life at risk, especially after..."

"Me, too..." Megan added.

"Shit happens, guys. I don't blame either of you; we are all tired after a very rough week and we all make mistakes.

"That's not the point," Stephanie replied. "I am trained not to make mistakes..."

"You could have died, both of you, all because I forgot to switch the tags," Megan went on.

"It was my fault, too," Stephanie reminded her partner.

I decided that it was going to be impossible to reason with the two morose girls.

"Come here, both of you – I think I have a solution for this..."

* * *

I looked up to see Megan and Stephanie reappear from the direction of the bedrooms.

Both girls were red faced and both girls had a perfectly formed hand print on one cheek. I grinned at them and they both tried to hide their faces.

"You two been talking like bitches?"

"Something like that, yeah," Stephanie replied in a somewhat subdued tone.

* * *

"You okay, Hailee?"

"No more bruises, if that's what you mean."

"You did a number on those two," I chuckled.

"Only thing I could think of to snap them both out of it. They forgot to swap the plates; shit happens."

"Thank you for being so understanding – if I had known..."

"Do you want slapped as well?"

"Do you want another bruise?"


	16. Escape From Germany

**_Friday, 29th April 2016  
Early Afternoon_**

Now that the immediate issues were resolved and everybody was safe, at least for the moment, we concentrated on why we were in Germany in the first place.

We were meeting up with somebody and we hoped to find out what rock Vossen was hiding under. Considering the issues with the SUVs, we had changed vehicles; it had been scheduled anyway and new vehicles had been sourced.

Well, some of us had... Since I had _slightly damaged_ – written off, Dave insisted – my Audi RS3, I needed a new car. In view of that requirement, I had taken delivery of _the_ most awesome car I had seen for a long time.

"Fuck me!" Chloe exclaimed as I hit the lights in the Munich garage.

..._...

The automobile was red from hood to trunk and it somehow made a Mustang look like a Model-T Ford in comparison – whatever I thought of European car designers; they sure designed beautiful looking cars. The car had a 6.2-litre supercharged V8 engine and it could rocket past 155mph, reaching sixty in just 4.2 seconds. It sat on black 20-inch alloy wheels and I was getting wet just staring at the subtle curves and muscular shape of the hood and flared wheel arches...

"You're cumming in your knickers, aren't you?" Stephanie suggested with a disgusted expression on her face.

"Yep, she is...!" Dave laughed.

The Vauxhall/Opel VXR8 GTC was just an orgasm on wheels and it was _all_ mine!

..._...

However, I knew from experience that Chloe enjoyed a good orgasm as much as the next girl...

"What about me?" She demanded indignantly.

"Oh, I knew that you'd want something to get off with, so I got you one of these..."

Chloe almost exploded there and then as I pulled a sheet off the 'flash blue', three door Corsa VXR. The girl actually crossed her legs and bit her lip as she struggled to control herself. Stephanie struggled between laughter and disgust.

"Zero to sixty in 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 143mph," I explained as Chloe quickly fell in love with her new wheels. "You think you can handle that?

"Well, I'm not driving in that chick-mobile!" Josh growled in disgust.

"I know you, so I found _you_ a toy, too..."

I pulled a sheet off the next vehicle.

"The Vauxhall/Opel GTC VXR. It'll get to sixty in 5.9 seconds and hit 155mph with ease."

The car was in what they called 'summit white' and it looked absolutely awesome, but nowhere near as good as mine, of course, nor Dave's new ride for that matter.

..._…

"Not bad!" Dave commented as he walked around the 'lava red' station wagon.

The Insignia VXR could hit 168mph and sixty in 6.2 seconds. It also benefited from four-wheel-drive which would come in handy later on.

"Can we . . . I, _please_..." Chloe murmured almost incoherently.

I laughed.

"You want to take your orgasm on wheels for a check-ride?" I asked and Chloe just nodded her head as I threw her the key fob. "Just try not to crash it or get a damn ticket!"

"Err, Chloe – can I come..." Stephanie asked.

A little under two minutes later there remained a pair of skid marks and a pungent aroma of burnt rubber as the Corsa vanished out of the garage.

"You think they'll come back alive?" Jason asked.

"I would not like to lay odds either way," Dave replied.

* * *

 ** _Forty minutes later_**

The Corsa returned with two grinning girls in view.

Stephanie dived out and thought that she might explode with excitement.

"That was awesome!" Stephanie burst out. "We did some awesome handbrake turns and that car is fucking perfect..."

Stephanie prattled on for another ten minutes before Chloe appeared out of her new car. Finally, Chloe clamped a hand over Stephanie's mouth so that she could speak.

"Thanks, Mindy, that car is outstanding but right now, I need to go change my knickers..." Chloe said gleefully as she ignored Stephanie's muffled threats of bodily harm.

"Just in time, Stephy – we have to go out..." I chuckled as Chloe removed her hand from the younger girl's mouth.

"It's Stephanie or Steph, _not_ 'Stephy'!"

* * *

 ** _An undisclosed location in Europe_**

"Is this Hit Girl _really_ that dangerous?" Vossen demanded.

"In our assessment, yes."

"Explain..."

"It's unsubstantiated, but we are aware of an operation at the end of last year where a member of the _Fusion_ 'family' was taken. That member was reported to be very close to Hit Girl. As a result, Hit Girl and her team launched a full-blown assault on an island and over sixty people died, but she rescued her missing member."

"So she is definitely a major threat?"

"Most definitely – she has taken down everybody that has ever stood in her way."

"Okay – next topic; where is that bitch, Landy?"

* * *

 ** _Mid-afternoon_**

 ** _Central Munich, Germany_**

The four of us met in secret.

Well, as secret as a large public restaurant could be – we had decided that there was safety in public. She was there, alone at the table, as had been arranged. Jason went first while I followed thirty seconds behind, with my daughter. The lady stood up as we approached and she smiled in recognition of the man.

"Good to see you, Jason," She said warmly as she offered him her hand.

"You too, Pam. I'm just sorry we always have to meet under these circumstances."

"Too true," Pam replied as she turned to me. "Hello, Mindy – may I call you Mindy?"

Pamela Landy was, according to her file, fifty-nine-years-old and five foot ten inches tall with long medium blonde hair. She was also highly intelligent and not to be treated lightly.

"It's my name – please do," I replied with a smile and I then indicated Stephanie. "This, is my daughter, Stephanie, and she is _Urban Predator_..."

Pam sank down into her chair and she shook her head.

"Will this never end – that sick bastard..." She said quietly, so as not to disturb the other diners.

"You wanted firm evidence, this is it," I continued. "Stephanie was abandoned when the US end of the operation fell apart – don't be fooled by the cute little British girl façade; believe me when I say that she could kill us all with little or no thought on the matter."

Pam considered that last comment.

"I am so sorry, Stephanie, that you had to suffer so badly under the auspices of the CIA," Landy said to Stephanie before she turned back to Dave and myself.

I had to admit, she seemed honestly upset about Stephanie and what she represented.

"If you can get the evidence against Vossen, I can put him down . . . but..." Landy turned back to Stephanie. "... A long, drawn out court case would only hurt the United States and I am sure that Stephanie would find another purpose for that man..."

Landy let it hang and I saw Stephanie smirk darkly as she understood exactly what Landy was hinting at.

* * *

"Did I understand that woman right?" Stephanie asked. "A CIA Director actually said that I could terminate Vossen?"

"Yes, she did – that surprised me a bit, but from what I've heard, Landy is all business," I replied.

"She is that," Jason confirmed. "In the trade, we call it being given a 'green light', as in Landy gave you the green light to terminate that cunt..."

Stephanie laughed before she turned to me.

"What was in that file she passed you," Stephanie requested curiously.

I stopped walking and turned to face Stephanie.

"It should tell us what Miranda was doing in that place . . . where she died..." I said slowly after a moment's hesitation.

I had not wanted to bring it up, not yet and not right at that moment but I was not about to lie to the girl. It had taken time to build up a level of trust with her; I was not about to destroy what we had built between us.

"Thank you for telling me," Stephanie said without a hint of emotion. "Can I read the file?"

"Yes, but not right now."

"Did she give you anything else?" Stephanie persisted.

Pam and I had talked for a few minutes while Jason had taken Stephanie off to one side. Jason had taken on the role of Stephanie's bodyguard for that meeting – just in case.

"We believe that Miranda may have been working with somebody else before she died. That man was part of _Urban Predator_ , back in the US, but he was redeployed to Europe as an instructor there. As Pam understands it; his daughter may have been abducted and put into _Urban Predator_. He has stayed undercover to find her. He is codenamed: Astute."

"Can we get in contact with him?"

Stephanie's quest for knowledge was insatiable.

"For now, no – Pam says that he will contact _us_ if he needs us..."

The rest of the walk back to the car was silent. I sensed that Stephanie's mood was getting worse by the minute.

* * *

 ** _The Safehouse_**

"Problem?" Dave asked as a stormy Stephanie swept past him.

"Not really..." I replied as I heard a door slam from the direction Stephanie had headed. "The CIA have officially given Stephanie permission to kill that bastard..."

"Useful..." Dave commented. "And..."

"I have a file that should help us find out what Miranda was doing in that CIA tomb."

"Ah – she knows about the file... That would explain her mood – I'll go see her."

I watched Dave as he headed off towards the back of the Safehouse. I hated to see Stephanie upset, so I sat down and began to read the file that Pam Landy had passed to me.

* * *

"Steph?"

"Leave me alone, please, Dave."

"Not happening..."

The ten-year-old girl was lying on her front on her bed and she was crying. I sat down beside her and carefully place a hand on her back. She was shaking as she cried and I felt really sad for her. I knew what it was like to lose somebody close to you. I also knew what it was like for somebody that you loved to die traumatically.

"Stephanie, I know it's hard to lose somebody..."

"It hurts so much..." Stephanie said as she rolled over and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"It does – it will never go away but the hurt does subside, only it takes time for that to happen."

"If I had not been there then she might still be alive. If I had been more careful then I would not have needed protecting. If..."

I cut her off...

"If I had not been so damn careless and gullible, then Mindy's Dad may still be alive. If I had listened to my own Dad and hung up the wetsuit, then he may still be alive today. If I had not found the guts to strap on that jet pack, then Mindy would have died and _Fusion_ would never have existed... If Mindy had died, then maybe _Urban Predator_ would never have been setup. Then you might still be living with your family..."

Stephanie sat up smartly.

"Dave – don't put any of this on yourself!" She said sharply.

"Why not – you were based on Mindy; so, if I had not rescued her..."

"You're fucking with me..."

"No, I am not – but I want you to understand that playing the 'if' game sucks. It has you sinking into a quagmire of depression – believe me."

"My life is all a façade. I allowed them to manipulate me..."

"You had no choice; you were seven-years-old, Stephanie."

"Everybody that I ever loved, is gone and I'm scared of losing what I have left – you, Mindy, Anne-Marie and Danny, the rest of _Fusion_..."

"This is a lot for anybody to handle, let alone a kid your age."

"It was just a shock, Mindy bringing up Miranda. She could have lied and kept that file from me but I'm glad she trusted me."

"Mindy loves you and has a lot of trust in you. She would only lie to you if it was really important. She also doesn't want to betray the trust that you have between you both."

"Thanks, Dave – without you two, I would be very dead."

"Very dead as opposed to just 'dead'?"

"There's a difference..." Stephanie growled with a smile.

* * *

 ** _That night_**

 ** _Eastern Munich_**

I had the bastard; he was mine!

We had had him surrounded – at least Dave and I did, until some dick of a cop had intervened. Vossen had known that he was cornered and he had somehow lost his security detail. While Dave had walked toward him, I had kept an eye out for trouble – we could not pull firearms out in broad daylight; not in Germany's largest city...

Dave had his hand on Vossen's arm and he was about to lead him to his VXR when we heard a stern voice from behind us. I span around to see a Munich Police Officer approaching.

"Polizei – ist es ein problem, denn hier?"

Dave quickly let go of Vossen and moved away from the man.

"Nein," he replied quickly.

"Es war nichts," Vossen said – obviously not wanting any Police attention.

I was furious and I swore violently to myself as Dave and I climbed back into the VXR and Vossen quickly vanished down a side street while the Police Officer went on his way.

* * *

 ** _The Safehouse_**

On entering the Safehouse, I kicked out, quite literally, at the first thing I saw, which rather awkwardly turned out to be Hailee.

"Really?" She demanded as she easily fended off my kick. "Have you forgotten about what happened to me a few days back?"

"Oh, fuck, I'm so sorry, Hailee – it's just that we had the bastard and we lost him..."

"Shit happens, Mindy – just don't take it out on your team and especially not on the one already covered in bruises from head to toe."

I felt my face going very red and I grinned in embarrassment.

"You causing shit, again, Mindy?" Cassie queried as she wandered past.

"Apparently..."

"Don't worry, Mom, _we_ still love you..." Anne-Marie offered with a giggle.

"I'm gonna go extinguish my face in the shower," I groaned.

* * *

 ** _Saturday, 30th April 2016_**

Early the following morning, we geared up to leave Germany; you could only leave so many dead bodies and wrecked vehicles behind before somebody began to take notice...

According to the file that Landy had provided and the information from the hard disk that the two girls had recovered, we had confirmed our next destination as the City of Turin, back in Italy. The plan was to leave very early and hopefully avoid both traffic and what would probably be a very vengeful Vossen and his CIA teams. It would also be useful if we could avoid any entanglements with the local Polizei too...

But that, I thought, was wishful thinking.

* * *

 ** _Mindy with Stephanie, Anne-Marie and Danny_**

As we hurtled down the tree-lined Sieboldstraße, we found our route blocked by a dark-coloured BMW M3.

I slammed on the brakes and for a moment, we both just glared at each other before a gun appeared out of the BMW's passenger window. Stephanie did the same as I slipped the gearbox into reverse and the VXR8 accelerated hard back up the street.

Bullets flew in all directions as Stephanie kept up a steady flow of bullets from her Glock 26 and switched out magazines one after the other. In the rear seat, Anne-Marie kept up a steady flow of replacement fifteen-round magazines as her older sister drained them. Danny was reloading the empty magazines as fast as his little fingers could move.

Another similar BMW appeared behind us and I executed a swift J-turn to bring the VXR8 back facing the correct direction of travel but I let the turn continue past 180-degrees and at 270-degrees, we accelerated into a large parking structure. Both BMWs followed as we drove quickly around the tight corners. Which, considering that parking garages were designed to force low-speed travel, was not so easy and the VXR8 was a large car to throw around in the tight confines of that garage.

Stephanie had now turned around and she was firing behind us. She managed a strike too and the windscreen of the pursuing BMW M3 crazed over as a bullet passed through it which caused the car to crash into a pillar with a loud bang. The other M3 appeared and roared past it's disabled twin.

"Take it to the roof!" Abby ordered from the other side of the city and I took the next ramp upwards.

..._...

Seconds later, the VXR8 burst out into the sunlight, closely followed by the BMW M3.

In a perfectly timed shot, the .50 BMG round left the barrel of the Accuracy International AX50 long-range rifle at over 2,700 feet-per-second. In around a second, the armour-piercing round pierced the BMW's radiator grill and thudded into the straight six-cylinder engine block, shattered the precision engineered block of aluminium and caused a catastrophic coolant and lubrication leak. The engine seized less than three seconds later before it tore itself apart.

All power was lost to the brakes and steering as the car became nothing more than almost two tonnes of projectile governed by the laws of physics that then hurtled towards the steel and concrete barrier that was all which was between the BMW M3 saloon and oblivion.

To add insult to injury, the driver's head exploded as yet another bullet passed through the windscreen, his head and then the rear window before it embedded itself several inches deep in the concrete structure of the car park. The BMW slammed into a parked Mercedes-Benz sedan and flipped over onto its roof with a resounding crash.

..._...

We did not wait around for reinforcements; I jammed the accelerator down and we fishtailed off the roof and down the ramp and we kept going till we hit the street and as moved out of the area very fast.

The grey and green BMW with flashing blue lights and Polizei emblazoned on hood and doors roared toward us as we drove up Kapuzinerstraße.

Before they could intercept us, I put the VXR8 into a four-wheel drift before I put my foot down and headed up Maistraße. In the rear view mirror, I could see the BMW 3-series Polizeiauto and it was closing on us fast. I had to be careful as the street was busy with traffic and pedestrians. I approached a T-junction and heard more sirens approaching.

I saw a BMW 5-series Polizeiauto turn into Maistraße and he tried to block me, but I managed to use the awesome power of the 6.2-litre supercharged V8 engine and we squeezed past with two wheels on the sidewalk. Behind me the BMW 3-series Polizeiauto was not so fortunate and both Polizeiauto collided with a resounding crash.

I turned left onto Reisingerstraße and after a minute of relatively careful driving, I could see nobody in pursuit.

* * *

 ** _Cameron with Eric  
Natasha with Cassie and Megan_**

Cameron stomped on the brakes and the red VW Golf R screeched to a halt less than a foot from his sister's blue VW Scirocco R.

"Stay there, Eric!" Cameron warned as he pulled on his mask and dived out of the car.

"I'm going fucking nowhere..." Eric gripped as he pulled on his own mask and slunk down into his seat.

"What you got sis?" Drift asked as he dropped down beside his sister who was crouched down behind her car.

Beside Crimson, Nemesis and Wildcat crouched down, pistols visible in their hands. I peered over the roof of the Scirocco and my shoulders slumped as I slid back to the ground.

"Where the fuck did they come from?" I demanded.

"You got me?" Wildcat growled as she deployed the claws from her left gauntlet. "We goin' in or what?"

"Eager little bitch, isn't she?" Nemesis chuckled.

"Fuck it!" I growled. "You with me, girls?"

"Where'd you suddenly grow some balls from, bro?" Crimson demanded.

"Quit bitching and let's fucking MOVE!"

With that we all jumped up and ran forwards, pistols blazing.

* * *

They were thugs; there was nothing else to say about it.

The CIA must have hired some local muscle; they had got it too! Some of the men were fucking _huge_ and they had tattoos up their necks and on their bulging arms. These were serious right-wing extremists of the very worst kind. It seemed that somebody had done their homework as some sported body armour which for a few of their number seemed completely redundant due to their sheer bulk.

I noticed Wildcat actually glance at her claws for a moment and then at the thugs; I was sure that she was gauging if her claws could actually go deep enough to cause any damage... There were about a dozen or so of them and they each carried a large melee weapon of some sort – metal baseball bats and the odd machete were starkly in evidence.

I saw one man take three or four bullets from Nemesis with barely a hint at slowing down; he just shrugged off the bullets and kept on coming. The analogy of trying to stop a freight train came to mind... Then it was all hands on deck as I deployed an Asp baton and did what I could to defend myself.

I heard a scream from Wildcat as somebody swiped her with their bat but the perpetrator received a bullet to the side of the head and Wildcat used the next man to test her claws as she dug them deep into his neck. The man crumpled next to his dead colleague – maybe they _were_ mortal!

..._...

I turned as my brother yelled out in pain and I saw Drift collapse under the weight of a very angry pile of muscle. I tried to intervene but received a punch in my stomach and I fell to the ground very badly winded. I was about to scramble back to my feet when I felt a very strong hand on my arm and I was almost lifted off the ground, however, there was care in how I was lifted to my feet and I looked up into the eyes of a big man; not a thug, just a big man.

The man wore black combat gear and over that a sand coloured flak jacket and on his head a helmet of similar colour. His face was hidden behind a balaclava and he wore combat goggles. On his right thigh was a holster and I recognised the butt of a Glock pistol sticking out. Across his chest was the unmistakable shape of a Heckler & Koch G36K assault rifle.

"Stand aside, Crimson," the man said in German accented English as he and several similarly dressed colleagues surged forwards and attacked the thugs.

* * *

"Holy fuck!"

I was stunned by the turn of events as I was grabbed around the waist by a very strong arm and was about to attack my attacker when I heard a voice in my ear.

"You're safe now, Nemesis – have no fear."

The man was huge and strangely, he made me feel safe. Whoever they were, they had saved our lives. As I was returned to my feet, I saw Wildcat struggling with another one of the men who had the single word 'Polizei' on his chest in white letters on a black background. I grimaced and yelled at Wildcat to quit attacking what could only be GSG9 - Grenzschutzgruppe 9 der Bundespolizei – I had done my homework before we had arrived in Germany! One of the troopers laughed as he lowered Wildcat back to her feet and 'dusted' her off.

It was all over in a flash as the thugs were rapidly subdued with rapid and decisive force.

Drift made a start at standing up; he appeared a little dazed.

"You okay, little bro?" Crimson enquired as she helped her brother to his feet.

"Little?" Wildcat asked.

"I'm older than him..."

"By forty-five minutes!"

"Still older!" Crimson laughed.

* * *

One of the thugs looked decidedly pissed at being subdued and then cuffed.

"Verhaften sie!" He yelled out angrily.

"Nein! Sie sind Freunde von Deutschland!" A trooper replied savagely.

"Care to translate?" Wildcat asked.

"He told us to arrest _you_..." one of the troopers replied. "We told him that you are friends of Germany..."

"I could have taken them!" Wildcat growled.

"Of course!" a trooper replied with a curt nod and a chuckle before he turned serious. "You must go now... We would advise you to leave Germany directly."

Within two minutes we were half a mile away from the scene and headed south.

* * *

 ** _Mindy with Stephanie, Anne-Marie and Danny_**

"Mom?"

"Yeah, honey?" I responded as I overtook a slow-moving car at speed.

"Can I get a cutie mark?" Anne-Marie asked and I almost hit another car.

"WHAT?"

"I want a cutie mark . . . on my butt!"

"You want a _cutie mark_ on your _butt_?" Danny asked his sister.

"Where else would I put it, Moron!"

" _No_ cutie marks!" I growled before a full blown argument could commence. "Time and a place, Anne-Marie!"


	17. The Italian Job

**_Sunday, 1st May 2016_**

 ** _Turin, Italy_**

It had been a long journey; over eight hours including stops, and we the drivers, we were exhausted and desperate for a coffee and some sleep.

We had finally stopped on some desolate mountain road where we had had a good lookout and we had managed a couple hours of sleep, which had been better than nothing. Suddenly, as we entered civilisation again, Mindy slammed on the brakes of her VXR8 and she skidded to a halt. I was forced to do the same to avoid a collision.

"What is it?" I demanded over the comms as looked around and expected trouble.

I looked ahead and followed Mindy's fixed gaze and I groaned.

"Totally, not happening!" I said firmly.

"But, Dave; it's purple!"

"No..."

"It's purple..." she growled.

"No..."

"It's fucking purple..."

She was borderline pleading...

"Do I really have to repeat myself?"

"It's purple for fuck's sake..."

She was desperate...

"Don't care – it's _so_ not happening..."

"Don't you love me?"

Here we go...

"I'm _not_ playing _that_ game, Mindy..."

"I don't _care_ what _you_ think!"

I glared through my windshield and into her wing mirror and therefore at Mindy – she wilted under my stare; as she often did when she knew that she was in the wrong.

"Bastard!" She muttered.

"Can we go now?"

"But it's purple – I just gotta..."

She always had to have one last go...

I pretended to cry into my hands; Anne-Marie giggled.

"Sometimes, I just don't know what to do with you..."

Despair.

"It's why you love me..."

"I suppose – but I'm still not buying a goddamn purple Lamborghini!"

I was left chocking on tyre smoke as a very annoyed Mindy slammed her foot down.

* * *

 ** _That afternoon_**

 _He_ was in the City.

How did we know? Because he had contacted us... Mindy and I were approached at lunch – it was just the two of us as everybody else was at the Safehouse. It was a man, on his own, with his hands held away from his body. He came directly up to us.

"Good afternoon, Mr and Mrs Lizewski."

"Speak, before you die!" I growled as the man held out his CIA credentials.

The man ignored my intended threat and handed over an envelope.

"I am to await your response..."

"Well do it over there; you stink!" Mindy retorted.

The man frowned but still he took a stroll towards the corner of the bar. I opened the envelope and pulled out a single piece of paper. It was straight and to the point...

...+...

 _We must meet._

 _Vossen_

...+...

"Well?"

"It's a fucking trap!" Mindy muttered.

"Obviously..."

"On the other hand..."

"You do like fucking with people..."

"What have we got to lose?"

"You."

I waved over the hovering CIA man.

"We agree," I said.

"A car will come for Mrs Lizewski at seven tonight."

"I'll be waiting; will it be formal?"

"No..." The man began before he saw Mindy's smirk and he realised that she was fucking with him.

* * *

 ** _The Safehouse_**

"I want nobody anywhere near that place. But Chloe, could you be ready to extract me?"

"No sweat, Mindy," Chloe replied.

"I'll come..." Stephanie began.

"No, you won't – you are the _last_ person I want anywhere near Vossen at the moment."

I glared at my daughter, who just glared back.

"Okay, girls – enough with the glaring," Dave grinned and I smirked at him.

Stephanie looked none too pleased but she said nothing.

* * *

 ** _That night  
Seven o'clock_**

The face to face meet was an extreme measure, and was most probably a trap; but hey – Hit Girl enjoyed a little danger...

Almost to the second, a large Jeep SUV pulled up, with only a driver inside. The driver indicated the right rear door, so I walked over and pulled on the handle – nothing happened. I rapped on the passenger window.

"Any time, now!"

The central locking cycled, I pulled the door open and climbed in.

"Jackass!" I growled at the driver who went slightly red, but he drove off as soon as I slammed the door.

..._...

We drove through the city and I kept an eye open for trouble but the driver neither talked nor looked at anything other than the road ahead.

I had plenty to say to that bastard and I wished that I could just kill him and end it all, however, we were not ready for him to die; we needed some questions answered first and I hoped that he felt the same about me.

When we finally pulled over, we were on the Via Milano at the Piazza-ella Repubblica. The driver stopped the SUV but he did not get out. An obvious bodyguard approached my door and he held it open for me to alight which I did. He waved me towards a restaurant which was very obviously a fish-related restaurant as I could see a giant tank that must have held a couple of tons of water towards the back through the glazed front.

I walked up the steps that led up to the front of the restaurant and the door was held open by yet another obvious bodyguard and I entered the restaurant. Vossen himself was sitting comfortably in a chair at a table that was set for two. As I approached him, I was stopped by a lady who then ran a wand over my body. The wand beeped at the small of my back – I removed the small Glock 26 pistol with two fingers.

"A girl has to look after herself..." I offered and Vossen forced a smile.

The wand beeped again at my sneakers – I removed a pair of throwing knives. Vossen's expression said, 'Really!'. I smirked and just shrugged my shoulders before I was declared 'disarmed' and I took my seat.

"A drink?" Vossen offered.

"No thank you," I replied with forced politeness.

"You are a very resourceful young lady, Mrs Lizewski, and you are a very remarkable opponent that I have learnt, to my cost, to respect."

"I haven't finished yet..."

"Naturally. Now, what can we do to end this?"

"You could kill yourself..."

Vossen chuckled.

"Well _that_ isn't going to happen now, is it..."

"I can help you if you wish..." I deadpanned.

"Shall we dispense with the pleasantries?"

"I am going to come after you, and I am going to keep coming after you, until I am satisfied that you are rotting in hell and every part of your despicable little _Urban Predator_ program is destroyed and laid to waste."

Vossen mulled that over for a moment before he responded.

"Now – why don't we quietly get outta here and onto a plane..."

My temper rose steadily and I was getting very, very pissed off; I was not one for word games and it was obvious that he did not want to talk. It was also equally obvious that he was not going to be very forthcoming with any information.

"I can understand you're very upset..." Vossen said calmly.

"Vossen, you've never seen me, very upset..." I growled.

"All right, _Mindy_. Enough is enough..."

I gauged my position and I decided that the fourteen to one odds were borderline at best, so I reached into my right pocket, without attracting any attention to my movements, and I removed one of Fox's half dollar coins. From my other pocket, I retrieved one of Fox's two pound coins. I joined them together and counted to five; by that time, the coins had connected and they were warming up fast.

Vossen stood up and his minions began to close in on me from every direction. I deftly threw the two conjoined coins at the monstrous fish tank and I ran for the door. Men began to draw firearms, but before anybody did more than reach, the coins detonated and the glass front of the tank shattered. As the glass exploded outwards, tons of water flooded across the restaurant and the men and women were washed off their feet by the torrent.

..._...

I ran out the door and I did my utmost to keep well ahead of the surging maelstrom of water – my feet and legs were soaked, but I wasn't about to argue about some damp shoes and pants! The odd table overtook me and I had to jump over it; I ignored the fish as they swam past. The blue Corsa VXR skidded to a halt mere feet from me and I dived into the front passenger seat and as the car accelerated hard, I turned to my left to see a grinning Chloe. She indicated the backseat with her thumb and I turned to see Stephanie and Megan grinning at me – each girl held an H&K MP7A2 PDW in their lap.

"Does _anybody_ follow my orders anymore?"

"Can it, Mindy," Megan shot back and I gave up arguing.

"You three take bitchiness to a fucking whole new level!" I growled as Chloe sped through the night.

* * *

 ** _The Safehouse_**

"I assume all went well?" Dave commented as I climbed out of the Corsa.

"Perfect, dumbass!" I growled in response.

"She came running out ahead of this massive torrent of water – it was fucking awesome!" Megan laughed.

"Was your friend a little annoyed with you?" Dave persisted.

"My what...?" I began, but then I stopped – the wanker was winding me up.

I smirked at Chloe, Stephanie and Megan before I replied.

"You can keep winding me up, if you want, Dave – but can we do it while we're naked and you're fucking the Hit out of Hit Girl?"

I saw Stephanie and Megan go beet-red in response to my comment and Chloe smiled. Then I screamed as Dave swept me off my feet and carried me towards our bedroom.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?"

* * *

 ** _Monday, 2nd May 2016  
Early morning_**

While my meeting with Vossen may not have been very successful; my night with my husband had been extremely successful in every way and by the morning I was seriously tingling in places that I never knew even existed.

Over breakfast, I ignored the other cunts who grinned at my flushed complexion and who made snide comments about some screams that had emanated from our bedroom the night before. After the events in Germany and the events in Milan, I decided that it would probably be best to leave the city as soon as possible.

Vossen was obviously up to something but I had no idea what, so we needed to keep close to him. Despite my escaping Vossen, we had kept tabs on him from the moment that he had left the restaurant – Nicky and Mathilda had kept an eye on him since he had returned to his hotel. Vossen had met up with some other men, in the early hours, and we were busy trying to identify them from photos that Nicky had obtained.

The intention was to try and capture Vossen along with those men.

* * *

 ** _Later that morning_**

Not surprisingly, it seemed that Vossen had his own teams out looking for _us_.

We had taken to the roads and had fanned out to make the CIA's job at intercepting us as hard as possible. Despite being separated there was a strategic logic to our disposition and we were thus able to provide support to each other if required.

That plan went into action much sooner than I would have liked.

* * *

 ** _Chloe_**

"Go faster, girl!"

"I'm going as fast as I dare..."

The summit white GTC VXR was mere inches away from the rear bumper of my flash blue Corsa VXR as we both roared up Corso Francesco Ferrucci, with three Carabinieri Alfa Romeo 159 police cars close behind. As I was about to cross over Corso Vittorio Emanuele II – what a name – I threw the wheel over and brought the hood around 100-degrees to the left and headed up Piazza Adriano. I saw Josh do the same and narrowly avoid crashing into me as he avoided my violent manoeuvre – oops!

"Fucking women drivers!" Josh yelled out over the comms.

I followed the curved street around and bolted across Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, which elicited a chorus of horns and rude gestures as I dodged the little Fiat 500s. In the rear-view mirror, I could see a rather pissed off Joshua who followed in my wake and threaded his way through the disrupted traffic. The Carabinieri had struggled to keep up with Joshua but they were quickly sorting themselves out. I continued around the piazza and came back onto Corso Francesco Ferrucci, heading south and then I swiftly turned left onto Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, heading east.

That had been fun!

The Corsa was nimble and I loved it – the power was awesome and the little car did exactly what I demanded of it. Behind me, Joshua caught up as we raced east.

..._...

A mile later, I turned hard left, up a tree-lined street called Corso Re Umbero. I swerved out and overtook some shitty little Fiats and Alfas as I went. I noticed Joshua as he raced up the tram tracks that ran along the inside of the street. At Piazza Solferino the road split and I cut up some little old lady in her dilapidated Fiat as I veered to the right behind Joshua who had forged ahead.

I followed at speed, narrowly avoiding crazy pedestrians as I went. Then I swore violently as Joshua slammed on his brakes to avoid another Carabinieri Alfa 159 and he mounted the curb which allowed me to shoot past.

"You snooze you lose!" I called out with a laugh – the response was unintelligible and knowing Josh, probably foul.

I now had Josh hard up my backside – not somewhere I would normally allow him; _hey_ , I was _not_ that kind of girl...

"Damn, these Italian rozzers are everywhere!" Josh exclaimed.

* * *

 ** _Mindy, with Stephanie and Anne-Marie_**

Josh and Chloe were having problems – but then so was I!

I was being chased by three Alfa Romeos, several miles away from my friends – while they had the cops, or rozzers as Josh called them, I had the damned CIA and they appeared to have done their homework since Paris and they were driving Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio autos. They were comparable in performance to my own car and the drivers seemed to know how to use them properly, too.

Beside me, sat Stephanie with a SIG Sauer MPX in her lap. Behind her, strapped in tight was Anne-Marie with her own pistol ready for instant use in its holster. We were racing along Via Pietro Micca, heading northeast toward the river. Half a minute later, our four high-powered vehicles roared into Piazza Castello and I was forced to take evasive action as I narrowly avoided a damn tram that had suddenly appeared and blocked my route. I cringed as the wing-mirror was smashed off beside Stephanie who yelled out in annoyance at the close shave.

"Well, you weren't using it!" She exclaimed with a smirk.

"Hey – quit using movie lines on me!" I growled back and Anne-Marie laughed out loud.

At least, if they could both joke and laugh, they weren't all that scared... My thoughts were cut off as a voice came into my earpiece – it was Jason.

"Head down Via Po – we have a surprise ready... Keep your speed up, Hit Girl."

The street was narrow and there was plenty of traffic – the Italian driving was, to be brutally honest, appalling which made predicting their movements next to impossible.

"Standby – I see you..."

..._...

Fifty yards ahead, I saw a hulking Mitsubishi Shogun SUV and it was beginning to move – I flashed past it with only inches to spare as it moved into the path of the first Alfa... Damn – the collision was spectacular even in the rear-view mirror!

"One down! You still have two on your ass – the drivers are good; I think one may be damaged," Jason advised me.

I soon had an Alfa mere inches from my ass – it must have been the damaged Alfa as it soon began to swerve erratically before it suddenly skidded, went sideways and then flipped over onto its roof with a resounding crashing noise. The third Alfa leant on its horn and veered over to the right where it dived down the sidewalk to avoid the other wrecked Alfa. However, the sidewalk was part of the building and lined with narrow arches, so the Alfa had to negotiate the full hundred yards or so of the arcade before it could re-join the cobbled street.

We both burst out onto Piazza Vittorio Veneto together and we raced for the bridge over the river – if he got there first, we would be done for. The VXR8 was _not_ a Mini Cooper and I could not just drive across the weir! His hood came level with my own and he soon surged past me as he floored the accelerator and the bi-turbo engine roared a crescendo as it sucked in air and accelerated further.

We were _not_ going to make it...

* * *

 ** _Dave, with Abby and Danny_**

"No, Dave – don't even think it!" I warned as I saw what was ahead.

"Abigail – you gotta live dangerously," he growled with an evil smirk on his face.

He drove the Insignia like it was a goddamn Ferrari! We could see Mindy as we blazed down Corso Moncalieri, on the opposite side of the river. Dave concentrated on the road ahead while I was able to watch Mindy as she tried in vain to make the bridge before the CIA blocked her off.

"Go, Mom!" Danny breathed from the backseat as he willed his Mom forward.

Dave kicked the Insignia into a power slide and he then floored the accelerator to send us over the bridge, directly _at_ the CIA car. It was a sure sign that Dave had been spending far too much time with the head nutcase, Hit Girl, and had been corrupted!

* * *

 ** _Mindy, with Stephanie and Anne-Marie_**

Oh, fuck!

The crazy fucker was gonna do it.

"Keep it coming – he has only one way to go..." Dave said calmly.

The combined closing speed was somewhere in the region of 160mph – if there was a collision... The CIA car could see what was going to happen and a dozen or so yards from the bridge he slammed on his brakes and attempted to stop as he pulled over to the right, which allowed me to sweep over the bridge, flash past the lava red Insignia with my husband at the wheel and make landfall on the far side.

I slammed on the brakes and skidded to a halt in a four-wheel drift immediately outside the Chiesa della Gran Madre di Dio. I turned to watch as the Insignia span around in a cloud of tyre smoke and I could see the CIA car as it hung precariously over the river. As we all watched, the Insignia drove toward the CIA men and with a gentle nudge, Dave sent the Alfa over the edge where it crashed down into a slipway and then rolled into the water of the Po River.

A minute later, Dave pulled up beside me.

..._...

"You miss me?" He asked with his usual dorky grin.

"That was totally nuts, Dave, but it worked..." I replied with a smile.

"Nuts is _not_ the word for it!" Abby complained bitterly.

"I'm sure Eric'll calm you down later," I commented.

"No, he won't; he does the absolute opposite, he..." Abby said before she clammed up and her face went very red.

"Too much information, Abigail!" I laughed.

* * *

 **Forty minutes later**

We were out of the main city and we fervently hoped that we were in the clear – ha, that would have been far too easy!

I had enjoyed the ride to that point and I was glad that I had not had an accident in my panties as some of the ride had been scary but also exhilarating – Steph gave me that word. I had a hand on my Walther pistol and I worried that I would not be able to do anything if the time came. It had been months since I had killed that man, back on the island – could I do that again?

I was snapped out of my thoughts as the car lurched to one side and then stopped violently. Stephanie turned to me.

"Get down!"

It was the voice and look that Stephanie used when she was in her 'Psyche mode'; the voice and look scared me and I instantly obeyed as I dived to the floor and drew my pistol. From my position I could see Stephanie push open her door and open fire with her MPX; the staccato roar as she fired short bursts at somebody ahead of the car.

Mom was out of the car and she fired several single shots with her Glock towards the rear of the car.

* * *

Two cars had stopped ahead of us and blocked the street.

Behind us, a truck had skidded across the road and prevented our escape; we would have to shoot our way out. Four men came at us from each direction – Stephanie dropped three with two bursts and kept the other head down. I dropped two more who advanced behind us and caught sight of another man who had tried to come around behind me but he had spoiled his approach by screaming out

It was only when I had dropped him with a bullet to the head that I saw the pink-handled Balisong embedded in the man's shoulder blade.

* * *

The man had come around the back of the car and he stopped beside my window.

I saw him bring his pistol up and I just reacted. I pressed the button and the rear window came down fast. I flicked my Balisong open and rammed the three and a quarter inch blade into the man's shoulder. He screamed in pain and Mom dropped him.

I closed the window...

* * *

Stephanie had dropped her MPX and she had her SIG in her hands.

A man, almost on his knees, crept around a parked car, his pistol held out before him. Stephanie saw him as he emerged; she raised the SIG and aimed it at the man's head. The man had only to move his own pistol just an inch to shoot the girl.

"Go ahead – make my day..." Stephanie growled and I groaned.

Mind you, the man groaned too as he quite rightly chose to drop his own SIG. Stephanie pistol whipped him and he collapsed to the ground.

"Really?" I growled at the unrepentant youngster as she walked back towards the VXR8.

There was movement to one side and I saw a gun move – one of the men was not quite dead... There was a single gunshot and the movement ceased. Stephanie ejected her spent magazine and inserted a full one.

"Waste of a damn good bullet..." she complained as she climbed into the car and slammed her door.

I shook my head and made for my own door.

"You coming or what?" Stephanie demanded in a very impatient tone.

"Fuck!" I breathed as I climbed in and closed my door.

I noticed a small alley between two building which I had not seen before and as I turned toward it, suddenly remembered something and threw something pink behind me where it landed on the back seat.

"Awesome!" I heard Anne-Marie squeal as she climbed out of the foot well to seize her Balisong.

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

The drive south, out of Milan was speedy and we sped down the E717, which was arrow straight in most places, at high-speed.

As we got closer to the coast we reached an awesome piece of road near Cadibona on the Viadotto Torre, A6 Torino to Savona road.

The road began to dive in and out of short tunnels and over small viaducts as it negotiated the sides of the rolling hills. Then, you passed _over_ the same road and wrapped around the hill to the right before you entered a tunnel that came out below where you had just been, it was fucking awesome and it felt like you were driving along a pretzel!

The road continued to wind its way along elevated sections along the hills as we headed south.

* * *

It was after we had passed the town of Moggie, that things went to shit.

Just to complicate things, a violent thunderstorm had begun. Rain pounded down in such a way that it seemed to be trying to rival Niagara Falls. Chloe, who was the third vehicle in our convoy managed to find herself off the E80 and she was on a side road which would take her to the coast at Torbora.

Her flash blue Corsa shot along the road and nipped in and out of the steady traffic as she tried to regain the E80. In response to the change in road conditions, Chloe had eased up on the accelerator and she allowed the car's advanced electronic safety systems to aid her as she kept up a high, but not extreme, overall speed.

As soon as we had realised that she was missing, the convoy had stopped and we had sent a car back for her. Backup for Chloe was mere minutes away from her, but their ETA would be affected by the same weather. All she had to do was stay safe until that backup arrived...

..._...

However, the enemy arrived first in the form of a Jeep SUV as it slammed into the right-hand side of the Corsa just as it passed a junction. Chloe fought to control her car as it was forced into opposing traffic; she was able to swerve back into the correct lane, just before a head on collision with a BMW sedan.

Chloe increased speed away from the SUV and she quickly lost it in the driving rain. The collision and near head-on crash had shaken and scared her but she was not one to allow a minor mishap to get in the way; she quickly regained control of herself and she called in the collision.

" _Fusion_ , Jeep SUV just swiped me; I have damage but for now, I'm in the clear... Oh, fuck – maybe not..."

"Help is about three miles away and closing – hang in there!" I replied.

"I'll be here..." Chloe replied confidently as she kept an eye on the approaching Jeep which had just emerged from the driving rain.

..._...

Ultimately, it was a combination of bad luck and the extreme weather.

The road had changed from being relatively straight and level to being both curved and hilly. Chloe sub-consciously changed her driving style to reflect the different road conditions. As well as the driving rain impeding visibility; it was growing darker by the minute. The Corsa had very good headlights, but when coupled with the rain; they struggled to pierce the gloom ahead.

The Jeep SUV was only a dozen yards behind. Each time it tried to overtake Chloe, it was impeded by a car driving in the opposite direction. Chloe had the same problem as she tried to make progress in the light traffic. The wipers were only just keeping up with the rain and the inside of the windshield kept misting up. The road began to climb and then it zig-zagged as the route negotiated the grade.

The turns became more and more severe, but then, just as another left-hand bend came up, an oncoming car took the bend wide and veered onto Chloe's side of the road.

* * *

 ** _Chloe_**

"Fuck!"

The headlights were blazing ahead of me and on _my_ fucking side of the goddamn road – my mind ran at a fast pace as it formulated a plan of action. As my side of the road was protected by a very solid concrete barrier, my only option was to switch over to the left-hand side of the road. The oncoming car smashed into the concrete barrier a dozen yards ahead and bounced off – I floored the accelerator and passed by on the left side of the road with just inches to spare.

I heard another smash when the car behind me collided with the wrecked Peugeot as it bounced off the concrete barrier. Then more lights appeared ahead of me; this time, it was _me_ on the wrong side of the road. I swerved over to the other side of the road, my tyres squealed and the Electronic Stability Control indicator flashed yellow as the various electronic safety systems fought against inertia in an attempt to keep the vehicle running in both a straight line and on four wheels.

However, as the back end of the car weaved to follow the front, the physical forces of the inertia won out and the vehicle's tyres began to lose grip and then the inevitable loss of control began...

* * *

Chloe took full advantage of every driving skill that she possessed but ultimately she lacked the experience to control the vehicle and as a result, she lost control completely and she became little more than a passenger as the car hurtled into oblivion.


	18. Nice

**_Monday, 2nd May 2016  
Evening_**

 _Chloe took full advantage of every driving skill that she possessed but ultimately she lacked the experience to control the vehicle and as a result, she lost control completely and she became little more than a passenger as the car hurtled into oblivion._

* * *

 ** _Chloe_**

Nothing that I did made _any_ difference.

While I was almost beside myself with fucking terror at what might occur, the car continued to feed me with useless information: The Lane Departure Warning indicator began to flash yellow and a chime sounded which indicated an 'unintended lane change'.

"No fucking shit!" I yelled at the Corsa VXR as we skidded sideways.

Then the Side Blind Spot Alert indicator illuminated in both mirrors as the car began to spin.

"I'm not doing this on fucking purpose!"

Then the Forward Collision Alert warning flashed up on the central display along with a red LED stripe projected onto the windscreen.

"Fuck me – I'm dead!" I yelled just seconds before I saw another vehicle directly ahead.

* * *

The car's electronic systems had a thousand things to do in response to the sensor inputs coming into the computer.

With a bang the seat-belt pre-tensioner fired which pulled Chloe firmly into her seat just milliseconds before the front of the Corsa struck the oncoming Mercedes head-on and the airbag installed in the centre of the steering wheel detonated with another resounding crash and cushioned Chloe's face and head as she was thrown forwards against her seatbelt.

Chloe never registered the headlights that headed for the side of the Corsa as it rebounded from the first collision and was struck by another vehicle triggering the side airbags which exploded into life as the side of the Corsa was pushed inwards several inches. The impact lifted the right-hand wheels off the road and the car continued to roll over the Fiat that had collided with it.

Chloe felt like she was on a rollercoaster as she was flung from side to side, only her movements were greatly limited by the airbags – another of which detonated from the roof lining and covered the left hand side of the car.

* * *

 ** _The CIA_**

The Jeep SUV moved slowly in the traffic as everything rapidly ground to a halt.

"Get out and move up on foot – make sure they're dead..."

"Yes, Boss!"

Four men dismounted from the SUV and they hid their assault rifles underneath their long coats. The rain soaked them to the skin within seconds as they trudged up the hill. They had to push their way through many gawking drivers as human nature overcame any thoughts of danger. Fifty yards ahead, the aftermath of the accident could be seen as it emerged from the rain. Several cars were smashed up; none a blue Corsa VXR.

"There!" One of the men yelled.

Beyond the obvious carnage was another vehicle. That vehicle was blue and it lay on its left side, the underside of the car faced them and the pounding of the rain was joined by steam as it erupted from the destroyed engine bay. As the men came closer, another vehicle was seen; it's frontend badly smashed.

"If the girl or anybody else is in there, kill 'em..."

"If they're already dead?"

"Kill 'em, again..."

* * *

 ** _Chloe_**

My head hurt.

My left leg hurt.

My butt hurt.

My heart hurt too – I had just crashed _the_ most awesome car... It was my first car-crash too...

I was still strapped into my seat, but something wasn't right... My head rested on a soft . . . airbag. I felt something cold on my left arm and that was when I noticed that the car was on its left side and gooey mud was oozing in through the broken window – ewww!

"Fusion, Shadow, over..."

"Fusion, Shadow, over..."

"Fusion, Shadow, over..."

Fuck!

* * *

 ** _The CIA_**

The four men fanned out as they approached the crashed car.

An excited Italian ran over: "Dobbiamo chiamare la polizia - qualcuno potrebbe essere danneggiato..."

"Somebody _is_ hurt, I-Tie – you!"

The Italian was shot in the chest with a three-round burst, which thanks to the suppressor on the Heckler & Koch G36K, very little sound was heard over the pounding rain. At least, nothing was heard by anybody a distance away, but within the Corsa the sound had been unmistakable.

"Search the car and then we can get the hell outta this fucking rain – fucking shit country!"

One of the men used the butt of his rifle to clear away the remains of the rear window and he peered inside.

"Anybody alive in there?" He called.

"Red Mist!" Came the response.

"What the fuck...?"

The man was unable to finish his sentence as his head exploded violently.

* * *

 ** _Chloe_**

I lay on the airbag, my pistol in my hand as somebody kicked out the remainder of the glass in the rear window.

"Anybody alive in there?"

The odds of somebody speaking English at a random car crash in Italy; the Corsa had German plates...

"Red Mist!"

The challenge was not answered correctly; I aimed and sent four bullets into the man's skull. Then, just as I expected to hear bullets strike the wreckage of my beautiful car, I heard muted gunfire and a body hit the car before it slithered into the mud. I was cold; the mud and water was soaking through my trousers and top. The combat suit underneath provided some warmth, but not enough.

I heard more movement close by the car and then a voice.

"You gonna stay in there _all_ night?"

It was Dave! Only, I was not one to take chances – bullshit!

"Red Mist!" I called out again.

"May the bastard burn in hell!"

I scrambled eagerly towards the back of the car and I was hauled out by the strong arms of Dave. I felt relief as I allowed him to hug me; I needed that hug. My legs were weak and they threatened to collapse under me but Dave held me up. I reached up to touch my head where it hurt the most and my hand came away red – at least until the driving rain washed the blood away.

"Let's get the fuck outta here," Eric suggested and he grabbed the bags from what remained of the Corsa's trunk and he threw them into the Golf's trunk.

Dave casually dropped a pair of grenades into my Corsa, before he dived into the Golf and accelerated away; they had obviously made their way in from the opposite direction and as such they were able to drive away from the scene quickly.

* * *

 ** _Thirty minutes later_**

 ** _The CIA_**

"Red Golf, tag number: MAA1811 – I see it coming, boss; they're as good as dead..."

The four men had blocked the road with their Jeep SUV and they ignored the infuriated protests of the inconvenienced and irate Italian drivers. Their boss was a few miles away, alone – the other men had been shot dead and his Jeep was blocked in by the traffic.

The target came closer and at fifty yards range, they opened fire...

* * *

 ** _Dave, Eric, and Chloe_**

"Fuck!" Dave yelled as he slammed on the brakes and he took a hard right turn.

Bullets shattered the rear driver's side window and peppered the bodywork.

"Everybody okay?" Eric enquired.

"Yeah – I'm cool!" Chloe replied dryly.

"Changing from French to German plates didn't seem to work..." Eric mused.

"They following us?" Chloe asked.

"Not yet..." Dave answered. "Wait . . . yeah, they're following..."

"This road is deteriorating," Eric warned. "They have four-wheel-drive which will give them an advantage..."

"So . . . we face them?" Dave asked.

"The two of us?" Eric queried and he looked none too pleased with the suggestion.

"I'm still here..." Chloe reminded them both in an annoyed tone of voice.

"You've just been in a car crash, girl..."

"Fuck you, Dave . . . I'm fine; I can still fight..." Chloe interrupted vehemently.

"Chloe..."

"Take your damn tampon out, Dave; I can and I will fight..."

Dave looked at Eric who just shrugged.

"I gave up arguing with hormonal bitches a _long_ time ago."

"You saying that Abby and Nats are hormonal bitches?" Dave replied with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah..." Eric laughed.

"Let's do it..." Chloe growled as she inserted a magazine into the G36C she had just picked up and pulled back on the charging handle.

* * *

 ** _The CIA_**

The Red Golf was stopped, apparently stuck in the mud.

"Go see what's happening?" The man in the front passenger seat ordered.

"No chance, you seen the way these people shoot?" Another man demanded.

"You don't live for ever, man," the driver pointed out.

"I'll go!" The remaining passenger growled and he shoved the rear door open.

..._...

As the man moved forwards through the mud, his pistol raised, he blinked away the rain that was coming down in buckets. He almost missed the movement beside him as a virtual shadow came out of the rain and grabbed him around the neck. The legs of the shadow wrapped themselves around his waist and a face appeared barely an inch from his own.

"Gotcha!"

The girl's momentum carried her forward and the man fell backwards. They both splattered into the deep mud.

"Time to go bye bye..." the girl growled.

The last thing that the man ever saw were the piercing green eyes as they bored into his own, just as the trigger was pulled on the FN Five-seveN Mk2 pistol and the 4.6-millimetre bullet tore through his brain and then continued on deep into the mud.

* * *

 ** _Eric_**

I was shitting myself.

Normally, I was safe and sound in the manor, well away from any danger. I was so far outside of my comfort zone that it was way beyond funny. I knew that Abby had killed before; in Gotham, she had told me. I held my FN Five-seveN Mk2 pistol out, just as I had been taught. I struggled to see through the rain and I was under no illusions that I was better than the CIA apes that were at that moment tracking us down. I had heard the single crack of a pistol some distance away and I hated not knowing who, why and what...

Then I saw something move, maybe a little off to the right...

* * *

 ** _The CIA_**

The man smirked at the sight before him.

"Fucking geek is shitting himself – easy meat..." he chuckled to himself as he moved closer.

His prey turned slightly – 'the geek must have had good hearing,' the man thought as I raised his pistol but he then decided to make it slightly more personal and after he holstered the pistol, he drew a wicked looking blade from beneath his jacket.

"Never focus on your objective so much that you miss everything else that goes on around you..."

The man span around.

"Huh?"

"...Otherwise you might die."

The CIA man braced up as a knife was rammed under his ribcage and he tried in vain to lift himself off the blade that was pushed relentlessly higher up into his internal organs. The knife was then twisted viciously from side to side before it was withdrawn.

The dying man fell to the mud and he looked up at another man whose face was contorted with rage.

* * *

 ** _Eric_**

I had watched in horror as the man had emerged from the bushes.

Before I could do more than process his appearance, Dave had appeared and killed the man with zero hesitation. I was a bloody wimp! What use was I to Fusion if I could not kill when I was threatened?

"Help...!"

It was Chloe – she was in trouble... I ran towards the sound and as I went, I heard some noise off to my right and one of the CIA wankers appeared; he too ran towards Chloe. I snapped off two rounds; both missed but it had made the CIA man wary and he had slowed his pace somewhat before he vanished.

..._...

I heard a scuffling ahead of me and as I got closer, I saw two people struggling in the mud – one was huge and CIA, the other was much shorter and a lot less stocky. I knew that Chloe was strong and that she had many other skills to make up for her seemingly diminutively feminine frame and her limited strength when compared to a grown man.

Unfortunately, Chloe was struggling and it was obviously due to the car crash that she had only recently survived. The man was pounding Chloe into the mud and he used his extra bulk to his advantage. I moved forwards with no idea what I was going to do but then Dave appeared and so did the roar of an SUV as it came around a bend in the track, lights blazing.

..._...

The SUV bore down on Dave who barely dived clear in time, into some bushes. The large Jeep then turned towards me and I just reacted... I brought my pistol up, focussed on the driver of the SUV and pulled the trigger again and again – six times – before the SUV veered off to one side and smashed into a tree.

The CIA man who was pounding Chloe looked up at the sound of the gunfire and Chloe took immediate advantage of the distraction as she produced a short knife and stabbed the man in the throat. I ran forwards and dragged the man clear of the girl and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you, Eric – my knight in shining armour..."

"I have to agree with that..." Dave added as he came over. "Good shooting by the way..."

* * *

 ** _Dave, Eric, and Chloe_**

We made our way out of the area and regained the main road as soon as possible.

Vossen and his team had holed up for the night in some diplomatic building in the city of Albenga so the bastard was safe until the morning. We were able to check into a hotel only a short distance away and we arranged a rotating watch on Vossen so we could all get some much needed sleep.

We did not unpack, we just took a shower and then slept in our clothes so that we would be ready to depart at a moment's notice.

..._...

Naturally, Joshua was overjoyed at seeing Chloe safe and sound. He had wanted to be part of the team that went back for Chloe but Mindy had decided, quite rightly, that it was too personal for him and that fact would affect his judgement. Joshua had finally accepted that after a few minutes of kicking off.

Thankfully, Chloe was merely exhausted and she had no major injuries, just plenty of bruises and she was very sore – Joshua helped soothe her bruises in a shower...

* * *

"You okay, Chloe?"

"Yes, Hailee... Joshua has checked out every inch of me – both inside and out – and everything works . . . oh, yes; it all works!"

There was general laughter as Chloe closed her eyes and smiled like a Cheshire cat, a pink tinge to her cheeks.

"It's enough to make you want to throw up!" Stephanie growled as turned away in disgust.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, 3rd May 2016_**

It sucked.

We missed the bastard as he and his men escaped our watchers. It was nobody's fault; Vossen had just got the better of us. We had all been on nearly constant operations for over two weeks and we were all tired, not to mention that some of us were injured. Surprisingly, I had managed to remain unhurt – a record for me!

There must have been some form of concealed exit from the building that he and his cronies had used.

* * *

Eric had taken the opportunity to check the dead CIA bodies for evidence while Dave had briefly searched the smashed SUV.

I was very impressed by Eric and how he had responded to the impromptu action. Abby had – well, let's just say that she had found her own way of rewarding him and it must have been one hell of a reward as the screams had been way beyond _anything_ that we normally heard from Chloe and Josh!

Chloe had actually cringed as her best friend had screamed out...

..._...

We hit the road the moment that we found out Vossen had fled. Thanks to the intelligence found the night before, we believed that they were headed for Nice. There was only one reason to head for Nice and that would have been for the port... We had nothing else to go on, so we headed southwest towards Nice.

It was a short drive – a little over 112-kilometres – and we managed that in a little over an hour, easy.

* * *

 ** _Several miles outside Nice_**

"Dave, something just came to me..."

"Oh, God – do I really want to hear this?"

"In the past three weeks, I've had sex in six countries: the US, the UK, France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy . . . Paris was the best..."

"May I go on record as saying that after listening to that conversation I feel violated!" Stephanie growled.

"Oh, I don't know – sounds cool to me; we only managed three countries..." Jason cut in over the comms.

"We managed _six_!" Chloe added from several miles down the road.

"Only five; that finger fuck in Munich doesn't count..." Josh challenged.

"Hey, Dave – do you fancy slipping into Austria and then into me so that we can make it seven...?" Mindy asked.

"Hey, kids present!" Stephanie growled as Anne-Marie pretended to be sick and Danny laughed.

"What about you, Abigail?" Chloe demanded.

There was silence.

"Either she's still counting or she has Eric's dick in her mouth and she can't talk!" Chloe chuckled.

"Oh, wow – I never knew somebody could go _so_ red!" Natasha laughed from the Renault.

"Five – you bastards happy?" Abby called out with an embarrassed giggle.

"Ooh – tied with the two nymphomaniacs!" Mathilda laughed.

"Can we please change the topic of conversation?" Stephanie begged. The young girl was going slightly pink in the face.

"I have to agree with the Brit – it _is_ disgusting..." Megan chimed in.

"Bet you'll be getting some the next time you see Trojan..." Hailee teased as Megan exploded into back-to-back expletives and insults which caused much laughter and it nicely eased the tension as we headed closer to Nice.

* * *

 ** _Late morning_**

"I have them on CCTV – just entering Nice from the north..."

"Thanks, Marty!" Dave replied.

"I think they might be headed for the docks..."

"Marty, can you notify the navy, please," I requested.

"Consider it done, oh fearless leader!" Marty replied.

"Please!" Megan cut in in a disgusted tone.

* * *

We caught up with the two Mercedes-Benz sedans on the Boulevard Jean Baptiste Vérany.

They made us, just as we closed in on them and the chase began... The pair of S-Class sedans accelerated hard and we followed suit. The roads were tight and it was a struggle to make progress through the thick traffic. Despite that, we never let the target vehicles out of our sight.

As we made our way through the city, it became certain that the docks were out ultimate destination.

* * *

 ** _Quai de Docks_**

The two cars slammed on their brakes about a hundred yards ahead and several men dove out of the vehicles.

"They're getting away!" Chloe exclaimed as the men were seen to head towards a large yacht which was moored stern-in at the adjacent dock.

As we got closer, the men were seen scrambling aboard a giant mega-yacht which started to move away from the dock almost immediately. Chloe was then shocked to see Mindy steer _away_ from the dock and they continued around to another, empty dock where Mindy slammed on the brakes. Chloe jumped out of the car the moment they stopped and she watched the large yacht departing with their prey. The yacht was huge!

"We'll catch 'em..." Mindy said confidently as she stood beside her best friend.

"You know, Mindy, if we're gonna be chasing that thing – the _Atlantic Storm_ just ain't gonna cut it – you're gonna need a bigger boat!"

Mindy smirked and Chloe groaned knowing the expression.

" _What_ have you done...?" Chloe demanded.

As if on cue, Mindy turned seaward and Chloe simply stared, her mouth open, as a behemoth came around the headland at speed. Within two minutes, it passed through the breakwater, backing down hard as it spun and slowly came alongside the dock.

"No fucking way!" Chloe exclaimed.


	19. Mediterranean Pursuit

**_Tuesday, May 3rd 2016_**

 ** _Nice  
Quai de Docks_**

The vessel was immense – 155-feet in length overall from stem to stern and the huge yacht literally towered high over the dock. The hull was a pleasant grey while the upperworks and fore-foot were duck-egg blue and, typically for Mindy, there was a purple highlight along the side amidships and another high up, below the grey-painted SatCom dome. The hardtop and mainmast were a contrastingly darker grey.

The entire vessel oozed menace and power. To me, she seemed less of a floating gin-palace and more of a sea wolf, ready to pounce. I gazed upwards at the four decks which towered above me, one by one.

"Will you stop gawking and get aboard, you damned halfwit!"

The instantly familiar voice drew my eyes to the third deck and towards the bow where I was more than a little surprised to see my own father gazing down at me from the starboard Bridge Wing. He laughed before he spoke again.

"Goddamn passengers, eh, Captain!"

"Bloody menace, if you ask me, Captain!"

I laughed as I saw yet another familiar face appear over the bulwark and smile down at me.

"Move along, Chloe, and you too, Cassandra!"

"Dammit; it's Cassie, Dad!"

..._...

The others were mesmerised as they climbed out of the cars and gazed up at the mega yacht.

"All aboard for the cruise from hell!" Another voice called from the top of the gangway which had deployed from aft on the portside, level with the second deck.

"Hold your damn horses, Spook – we're coming!" Mindy laughed.

"How _could_ you afford all this?" Chloe demanded as her eyes darted around the mega-sized mega-yacht.

"Simple – we emptied Megan's and Stephanie's swear jars!" Mindy deadpanned and she ignored the looks of death that came from the two aforementioned younger girls.

"You know," Dave commented as he watched the girl's mouths move slowly and silently. "I think you two should each contribute ten bucks to your respective jars..."

"What?" Megan demanded – Stephanie fumed silently and she did not trust herself to speak.

"…I think that's probably pretty cheap considering what you're both thinking, right about now..."

"We're gonna have to put fuel in this behemoth at some stage..." Mindy laughed. "Get aboard, people, we need to shove off!"

* * *

 ** _Ocean Vigilante  
Nice, Southern France  
Position: 43.7102° N 7.2620° E_**

The moment the last person had stepped aboard, Spook stowed the gangway and the lines were castoff.

Commander Bennett conned the Sunseeker yacht directly out of the harbour entrance before he turned us south and made for deep water at fifteen knots. An hour later, we turned onto a south-westerly heading for another few minutes before we then increased speed to thirty-five knots and came around onto a heading of two-one-zero.

The pursuit had begun.

* * *

 ** _11nm south-southwest of Antibes  
Position: 43.3852° N 7.0458° E  
Course: 210°, Speed: 35 knots, 20nm logged_**

Mindy stood before us all as we all gathered in the Main Salon. There was limited seating, but an obvious sparring mat took pride of place in the centre of the space.

"Okay, people – this is _not_ a pleasure cruise; you had that on the _Atlantic Storm_..."

"Loved every minute of _that_ one!" Anne-Marie quipped sarcastically and there was a ripple of laughter but Mindy scowled angrily and the laugher stopped very quickly.

"... The _Ocean Vigilante_ is a warship and she is as heavily armed as some naval patrol boats. We can detect and destroy, or at the very least heavily damage, anything within eight kilometres of us. In the bow is the Armoury and Magazine, which is stacked to the deckhead with everything from pistols and knives, to assault rifles and mini-guns. We also carry automatic grenade launchers and anti-tank guided missiles for when we need to get creative.

"On _this_ cruise you are _all_ aware of both _Fusion_ and _Vengeance_ , although some of you will _not_ be fighting but all of you _will_ be expected to pull your weight. Any order from Commander Bennett, Commander Perrin, or Commander Lawrence will be as if it were an order from myself and woe betide any of you who deign to disobey those orders..."

"You gonna take 'the cat' to us?" Chloe threw in and she stared down Mindy's 'I am not amused' scowl.

"You'd probably enjoy that..." Joshua chuckled.

"Maybe later..." Chloe purred and there was general laughter – even Mindy smirked.

"... We have all had a rough ride just getting here and the mission is nowhere near finished but finish it we will. As you all now, Commander Bennett is codenamed 'Neptune'. Commander Perrin will be 'Poseidon' and Commander Lawrence is, of course, 'Spook'. So let's have no fucking messing about and let's get down to some serious training. I want you _all_ familiar with this vessel, her electronic systems, and her weapons systems. You will all be issued with a lifejacket which _will_ be worn whenever you are on watch, or up on deck. Dave."

I took over the briefing.

"Nobody is allowed on the Bridge, or in the Command Centre without permission, except for _Fusion_ and _Vengeance_ senior members. A watch will be kept on deck during the hours of darkness – we are just as much at risk of being boarded and attacked as those which we are chasing down. Each one of you has been allocated a bunk – along with your lifejacket you will each be issued with anti-flash hoods and gloves which will be worn at action stations by all. For now, go get something to eat and then we can all get to work."

..._...

"This thing itches..."

Anne-Marie wrestled with the fire-retardant, white cotton anti-flash hood that she wore.

"I don't give a fucking shit!" Mindy growled as she pulled the inflatable lifejacket tight around her daughter's waist. Chloe was doing the same with Danny who was not complaining so vocally.

"But I can swim..." Anne-Marie continued to moan. "Plus, I look a dick..."

"For how long could you swim? It could be hours until you're rescued. What about if you've been injured or you are unconscious?" Mindy growled at her daughter. "Plus it's better to look a dick with all her skin intact than a dick who has every square-inch of her face burnt to shit!"

Anne-Marie sensed her Mother's building anger, so she said nothing and she wisely kept her mouth shut.

"If _I_ have to wear one, then so do you!" Stephanie said with a grin at Mindy as she pulled her hood and gloves into place. "You want this life, then you got to take the good with the bad, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Where did you get that term from, anyway?" Mindy demanded once their lifejackets were correctly fitted.

Stephanie smiled cheekily at her mother.

"Let's go count the life rafts," Stephanie suggested to her two younger siblings.

I smiled as they left the compartment but Mindy looked worried, just as she always did when her friends, and now her family, were headed into danger.

"We always come home, Mindy, and we all will this time too."

"I hope so, Dave, I really do – I just have a bad feeling about all this..."

Mindy wrapped her arms around me and I did the same with her.

* * *

 ** _Later that afternoon_**

 ** _Ocean Vigilante_**

I shrugged off my bad mood and went up onto the Sky Deck where I found Spook pointing out the various mounting points for our weapons systems to Chloe, Josh, Hailee and Dave.

"...On either side of the hot tub, we pull up the cushions here and here and you will see the base for a tripod mount. You will find two more aft on the Upper Deck below. Those four mounts are for Mk19 automatic forty-millimetre grenade launchers or for the Minimi 7.62-millimetre, belt-fed machine guns. The machine guns themselves and ammunition can be stowed in ready-use lockers.

"These lockers are concealed within the superstructure and each locker stows two Minimi machine guns and four cans of belt ammunition. The Mk19 launchers can be brought up as required and one is kept in a ready-use locker aft of the bridge along with a can of rounds. Aft on this deck you will find two similar bases for an M134 naval mount and you will find two more identical ones on the Upper Deck forward. What is an M134?"

"The M134 is a 7.62-millimetre, six-barrel Gatling gun," Hailee piped up.

"Not bad – for a girl!" Spook chuckled and he elicited a blush from the pleased girl as he headed aft. "We have four weapons onboard and quite literally tens of thousands of rounds. The mounts can be rapidly shipped and unshipped with these clips – three on each mount. Normally, the weapons are stowed in the Armoury and Magazine, however, as you can see, we have two weapons stowed in this ready-use locker, in the bar.

"Aft on this deck, here, and forward on the Upper Deck, you will find two more mounting points. They are for our Spike missile system which is valid against tanks, ships and vehicles. We can mount a launcher at each location covering a large arc at each point. Two launchers are in ready-use lockers, one beneath the staircase aft on the Main Deck and another forward on the Upper Deck.

"We have three versions of the missile stowed in the Magazine below. The 'mini-Spike' has a minimum range of fifty-metres, but a maximum range of 1,300-metres. We also have the 'Spike-LR' with a minimum range of 200-metres and a maximum range of 4,000-metres. Just for completeness – and for extended anti-ship capability, we carry four rounds of 'Spike-ER' which is designed to reach out to eight-kilometres."

"Not bad!" Joshua commented approvingly.

"Josh, you and Dave will be the primary Spike operators – get learning the manual," I suggested.

"Aye, aye, ma'am!" Joshua replied.

* * *

 ** _The Bridge_**

My next stop was the bridge.

Ryan was explaining the readiness system to Chloe, Megan, Stephanie and Abby.

"There are five conditions that range from alongside in port – Condition Five, all the way to Condition One – Action Stations, attack imminent. Considering the fact that we are a 'civilian' vessel, we cannot have weapons visible. When in port, we may receive visitors, so all weapons and ammunition will be struck down to the Armoury and Magazine. Once out of port, we can move weapons and ammunition to the ready-use lockers – that is being done as we speak – and is known as Condition Four.

At night, we will mount the weapons as that is when we might come under attack without warning. There is a lesser chance of attack during daylight. As is standard for most navies during times of tension, we will go to Condition Three at dusk and mount all weapons. Condition Two is reserved for when a threat is imminent and weapon crews will stay close to their weapons all night; just in case."

* * *

I led the group down forward to the Galley and I explained some of the non-standard extra features.

"This is the safest place aboard. We are on the Lower Deck, close to the waterline. The Galley has extra armour in the deckhead, above us, the deck below us and in the bulkheads around us. Every cupboard is also armoured, so you can hide behind them for extra protection."

Chloe grinned.

"Didn't you hide in a kitchen cupboard, once?" She asked.

"Yes, I did and that was when Kick-Ass rescued me the first time..." I replied with a smile. "That was where I got the idea from, actually."

Honestly, that _was_ where I got the idea from – those kitchen cupboards in Frank D'Amico's penthouse had saved my life. Dave had teased me relentlessly about those cupboards for weeks afterwards – once he had stopped being scared of me.

I had laughed about it – eventually.

..._...

Next came the Garage.

"Awesome!" Megan and Stephanie exclaimed.

"She's called the _Warrior_ and she's our tender. She is very fast and she can be armed with a Minimi as required. There's a door that opens in the Starboard side, just there," I said and I tapped the door. "The rail above launches and recovers the tender. Dave and Joshua are in charge of her and they are the tender's designated crew."

* * *

 ** _35nm east-southeast of Toulon  
Position: 42.9944° N 6.7523° E  
Course: 210°, Speed: 10 knots, 54nm logged_**

We were about thirty nautical miles offshore and fifty or so nautical miles along our course when we dropped down to ten knots.

Everybody, except for Commanders Perrin and Bennett, gathered in the Main Salon on the starboard side of the Main Deck. As per _Fusion_ Standing Orders, all wore their lifejackets. I smirked at Joshua who quickly threw up his hands.

"Do not even fucking _think_ about it; you're a cruel purple bitch!" Josh growled.

While the attention was on the moaning Brit, nobody seemed to notice the section of bulwark beyond the, currently open, sliding glass doors which had discretely motored from a vertical position outwards to form a horizontal platform – only, the safety railings had not been installed... I nodded to Josh and Chloe who turned without warning and they each delivered a firm kick into the chests of the two girls who unwittingly stood with their backs to the opening.

Stephanie and Megan both screamed as they flew backwards and fell the fourteen feet to the water.

..._...

I spoke into a radio.

"Man overboard, starboard side! Two in the water!"

Immediately, the ship's horn sounded three long blasts and the helm was thrown over to starboard which turned the yacht towards the two spluttering girls but took our churning propellers well away from them. Their lifejackets had automatically exploded into life as they had hit the water and both girls were now bobbing safely, but violently, in the white froth that was thrown up from the churning propellers as the engines advanced to full ahead and we commenced a Williamson Turn, which would bring us around onto a reciprocal course and back to the two girls who were readily visible with their bright orange, Day-Glo life jackets.

"They are going to be _so_ pissed!" Hailee laughed.

"I can handle a spitting Kitty-Kat any day of the week," Chloe replied coolly and she sounded unconcerned – she had kicked Megan.

"A scrawny little ten-year-old Brit?" Joshua added. "No problem!"

..._...

The Commanders on the bridge brought us expertly to a dead stop, just a few yards from the girls, both of whom were yelling obscenities at us all. At the stern, Dave had lowered the 'beach' – the transom at the stern could open and lay flat on the water where a ladder was then attached to allow easy access from the water.

Megan pushed Stephanie up the ladder first and then followed close behind her partner. Hailee was right; both girls were pissed to put it mildly.

"Sorry, Steph – just a bit of f..."

Stephanie kneed Joshua in his left thigh and he dropped to the deck in agony.

"Just a bit of fun, Joshua?"

Without warning, Megan did the same to Chloe, who yelled out in pain and dropped down beside her boyfriend.

"No hard feelings, Shadow...?"

"None..." Shadow hissed through the pain.

The rest of us just laughed. I wrapped a towel around each of the shivering girls after I had helped them remove the inflated lifejackets.

"Thanks, both of you."

"No problem, Mindy – it was fun!" Steph replied with a grin as her teeth chattered in the cool breeze.

"The water was pleasant-ish..." Megan added with her own grin.

"Sorry about the surprise – Josh and Chloe cooked it up and I agreed..."

"Josh was right; it _was_ just a bit of fun..." Stephanie said with an evil smirk, as she glanced at the two fifteen-year-olds who writhed around in agony on the deck.

She then headed below to change and Megan went with her.

* * *

 ** _An hour later_**

"Sorry, Steph..." Joshua offered.

"How's the leg?"

"It hurts like fuck..."

"Okay, I forgive you then," Stephanie replied with a grin.

Joshua just laughed.

"You're awesome, Steph, never let anybody tell you different."

"Thanks, Josh."

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

Dinner was good – Spook cooked with the help of Stephanie and Megan. We had steaks to celebrate our first night aboard and I was very impressed by the results. There were twenty of us aboard, so we ate on the Sky Deck, which was awesome. At all times, though, there was a four-person Command Crew on watch, with two people on the bridge and one in the Command Centre, while a third was on patrol around the Upper Deck.

Those on watch were still allowed to eat, so plates were delivered to the bridge and the person who walked the Upper Deck would take a few minutes to eat on the Sky Deck.

* * *

 ** _The following morning  
Wednesday, May 4th 2016_**

 ** _30nm northwest of Ibiza  
Position: 39.0866° N 0.8286° E  
Course: 181°, Speed: 30 knots, 404nm logged_**

Every hour was spent training, sleeping, eating or on watch.

I knew that given time, people would start to worry, however, if they were kept busy then there would be no time for worry. I had also managed to humiliate Hailee but that had not been my intention. Cassie actually had a day job for when she was not out kicking drunk Glaswegians in the head. Cassie was a junior doctor, still in training, but she was far enough along that, with the help of Dr Bennett, she had performed a full medical on Hailee.

The poor girl had hated every minute of it, but Dr Bennett had refused to allow Hailee to fight until she had completed the medical successfully. Hailee had moaned about so many people seeing her naked, but she knew that ultimately she had no option but to comply if she wanted to be Petra any time soon. I took the blame for the humiliation as I was the one who had insisted that she was checked out.

I had been on the humiliating end of Cathy's medicals before and I dreaded them.

However, after an hour's humiliation, Hailee escaped with a fairly clean bill of health. Her bruises were doing well, as were her cuts. She was still in pain from her ribs, but she assured me that she could fight. I had to trust her; I gave her the usual warning and she had accepted that. She knew full well that I would raise holy hell if she dared lie about her condition.

Megan had assured Hailee that it was _not_ worth hiding _any_ injuries.

* * *

Stephanie was fighting with her younger brother and sister.

Surprisingly, that was a rare occurrence; Stephanie was always careful around the twins as she was well aware that she could hurt them very badly if she lost control. For the moment, I did not mind the twins getting hurt – callous? Maybe; but it was crucial training.

The twins were doing everything that they could to put their big sister down. Stephanie was going easy on them; she could have finished the fight within seconds, but she was a team player and she enjoyed messing about with her younger siblings. The Main Salon was busy and with Stephanie, Anne-Marie and Danny on the mat, there was plenty to watch. Megan was the referee and she was also there if Stephanie got a bit too wild.

Close by, Chloe and Joshua were cleaning their pistols as they sat cross-legged beside the mat. Hailee was recovering from her recent humiliation on a couch in the Main Salon and she was talking with Cassie – the two of them had hit it off straight away and they both got on really well together.

..._...

I sat with Dave on another couch and watched as Stephanie expertly sidestepped the twins when they went in for another attack. The ten-year-old was toying with her brother and sister and she smirked at them. Now, Anne-Marie was getting annoyed and so was Danny, to a lesser extent. Seeing Stephanie fight without her combat suit on was a sight to behold. There was practically nothing to her; she was about four foot six inches tall in her bare feet and there was not an ounce of fat on her slim frame.

Needless to say, her body was deceptive; there was muscle hidden away there and she knew how to use it. She moved very fast and I thought back to how I used to be at that age and how I would have looked to Daddy as I had trained. In only two or so years, that girl had gone from being an innocent little girl with her whole life ahead of her to what she was now: a hardened, psychopathic killer.

"Fucking ow!" Stephanie yelled out as Anne-Marie scored a strike on her sister's upper thigh.

"Yeah!" Anne-Marie yelled out with pride.

"You go, girl – take down that bitch!" Megan called out.

"Hey – you're supposed to be the impartial referee!" Stephanie complained indignantly.

"Fuck that!" Megan retorted with a grin.

Stephanie screamed as Danny took advantage of the distraction as he spun and jammed his right foot into the back of his sister's knee and put her down on one knee. Anne-Marie then spun around and smacked Stephanie around the face with a left hook; Stephanie hit the deck hard.

There was cheering from all those present as Danny kept up the tempo and Stephanie received a kick to the stomach and then the chest in rapid succession. I jumped up quickly and I caught Anne-Marie as she moved in for the coup de grâce with her foot about to come down into her big sister's side.

"Enough, Rogue!" I called out as I plucked my daughter out of the air.

* * *

 ** _Sky Deck_**

"Okay, you four . . . there is very little chance that you would _ever_ be required to take the M134 for a spin in action, but Mindy has insisted that you all be shown how to operate said weapon," Spook lectured.

"Huh?" Anne-Marie asked.

"Sorry, Spook doesn't speak Yank," Stephanie replied with an evil smirk at Danny and Megan laughed.

Anne-Marie scowled and was about to hit her big sister when I glared at her and her fist quickly vanished.

"The M134 is a six-barrelled, air-cooled, link-fed, electrically driven Gatling gun, in 7.62-millimetre calibre. The barrels are spun by an electric motor and the weapon has a range of about 1,000-metres, although the tracers will burn out at 900-metres.

"There are two switches that allow the weapon to fire at 2,000-rounds-per-minute, or at 4,000-rounds-per-minute. The ammunition can that is located with each weapon contains 2,625 rounds of ammunition in a mixed load of ball, tracer and low-light tracer rounds. We also carry Sabot Launched Armour Piercing ammunition."

..._...

Under the close instruction of Spook, Anne-Marie lifted the red cover that protected the arming switch and she flicked the switch beneath, upwards. I noticed that her hands were shaking as she gripped the twin handles.

"Bridge – Sky Deck – request permission to test fire the Forward Port M134..."

"Sky Deck – range is clear – permission granted for Forward Port M134 test firing," Commander Perrin replied over the radio.

"Anne-Marie – gently press the 'Low Rate' trigger with your right thumb..."

The eight-year-old girl did so and she promptly released the button as she jumped backwards in fright as the mini-gun belched out two dozen rounds before it fell silent, the spinning barrels coming to a halt.

"Awesome!" Danny yelled out.

Anne-Marie was still shaking but a smile appeared on her face.

"Well?" Stephanie prompted.

"That was... indescribable..." Anne-Marie muttered happily.

* * *

 ** _The Bow_**

After lunch, I took Joshua, Chloe, Natasha, Stephanie and Cassie forward onto the bow.

"We have a single boarding craft available, currently stowed here, on the bow. The technical name for the RIB is a Vessel Interdiction and Boarding-Team Delivery craft, or VI-BTD. The craft is 9.5-metres long and is capable of 60-knots. The supercharged twin 350-horsepower engines are super-quiet and designed for a stealthy approach. It will comfortably carry six – eight at a push – more if you don't mind a little discomfort. In the bow is a mount for a Minimi 7.62-millimetre machinegun. The craft is fitted with FLIR so we can make an approach without radar or lights."

"Awesome!" Joshua grinned.

"Her name is _Cutlass_."

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

"Sit still, Stephanie!"

"But I'll be wearing a mask..."

"It'll be night and you may need to remove it – hence the camo paint," Joshua explained as he expertly applied dark green, grey and black streaks to certain parts of her face, the backs of her hands and wrists. "My Dad taught me how – I intend on keeping you safe, Psyche."

"It feels icky..."

"Less 'icky' than a bullet..." I replied darkly.

"I've never liked wearing makeup – too girly."

"Well _this_ is man makeup, so if you ain't got the balls for it..." Josh chuckled.

"My balls are way bigger than yours, arsehole!"

"Well, you are _not_ checking him out to confirm it..." Chloe grinned as she applied a similar scheme to Cassie's face.

"This is going to be _so_ much fun!" Natasha added with a grin.

..._...

Once suited up, we drew our equipment for the night.

All our weapons had been pre-selected and prepared for use in a maritime environment. Most weapons hated to be immersed in any form of water, let alone saltwater. We checked each of our weapons and every round of ammunition. We were going into harm's way on the type of mission that only the world's most elite special forces were normally capable of.

"I can't believe I'm actually going to be doing this..." Joshua mused as he reassembled his SIG MPX-SD submachine gun.

"Huh?" Cassie asked.

"My Dad used to do things like this back when he was in the SBS – I never expected that I might actually be boarding a vessel at sea on a mission of violence," Joshua explained.

"You mean a mission of piracy?" Stephanie interjected. "We are forcibly boarding a civilian vessel on the high seas with the aim of taking control of said vessel and killing people on board."

"Yeah – just like we declared war on Great Britain when we invaded Buck Island," Mindy replied.

"I suppose," Stephanie mused.

"Just think of how much fun you're gonna have!" Dave said.

"Thanks, Dad!"

* * *

As it began to get dark, there was a flurry of activity as we went to Action Stations and the weapons came out of their lockers.

Hailee and Eric were on the Sky Deck, mounting the Minimi machine guns beside the hot tub. Aft, Dave was busy preparing a Spike launcher. Mathilda and Cameron had the job of mounting the 20-kilogramme mini-guns on that deck and below on the Upper Deck. After thirty minutes of furious activity, all the weapons were mounted and ready for immediate use.

Everybody chipped in, even the younger members as they ferried ammunition around the vessel. Every crew-member wore their lifejacket, anti-flash hoods and gloves. Abby was checking over all the electronic systems that would reach out to detect anything approaching us out of the darkness.

"Stand down, Action Stations..." came the announcement over the ship-wide speakers.

Everybody was relieved to be able to pull off their hoods and breathe fresh air.

* * *

 ** _35nm southeast of Cartagena  
Position: 37.1399° N 0.5589° W  
Course: 231°, Speed: 0.3 knots, 554nm logged_**

It was after eight that night when we stopped engines and the 3,000-kilogramme rigid inflatable boat was lowered over the bow into the waters of the Mediterranean. The boarding team consisted of Hit Girl, Jackal, Shadow, Crimson, Psyche, and Nemesis. All were dressed in their combat suits but with a limited weapons load. There would be no room for full-size Katana swords, so only knives and firearms would be employed.

The assault was intended to be stealthy; the plan was to board, place explosives, capture the targets and leave. The VI-BTD craft would have a closure speed of over thirty-knots and, if all went well, the assault team would board the enemy yacht after forty minutes or so of hard ride. _Ocean Vigilante_ had to remain beyond the radar horizon, or they would be tipped off to our presence.

..._...

Needless to say, I was very nervous as I watched the preparations alongside the hull just aft of the starboard Bridge Wing. I wished that I was going; I hated to see my wife go into action without me but it was necessary. I was also watching my daughter and my best friends as they prepared to race off into the darkness and the unknown. They would be so far ahead of us that we would be unable to provide any timely assistance.

We would remain closed up at Action Stations, as we were at that moment, until they returned safely.

..._...

The assault team were all aboard and ready with engines idling. _Ocean Vigilante_ was showing no lights and in the darkness I could only see _Cutlass_ when I held a set of NVGs to my eyes; she was sinister and looked very deadly. The black shape in the front right hand seat raised her hand and waved up at me – I blew her a kiss in return.

"Come back safely, my love," I whispered to myself.

Beside me, both Commanders appeared from the red-lit bridge and I knew that they were feeling the same. It was one thing sending members of your crew to fight, another to be sending your own daughters.

"Once more, my friends," Poseidon said quietly.

"They _will_ return, all of them," Neptune added.

" _Oscar Victor_ , this is _Cutlass_ – standing by to depart..."

It was the voice of Jackal.

" _Cutlass_ , _Oscar Victor_ – you may depart. Fair winds and following seas, _Fusion_."


	20. Mediterranean Assault

**_That Night  
Wednesday, May 4th 2016_**

 ** _Cutlass  
35nm southeast of Cartagena  
Course: 231°, Speed: 58.6 knots_**

The ride was rough, but the shock absorbers built into the seats helped.

Every team member was wearing a slim lifejacket and a helmet, just in case they were thrown overboard. Although, at the speeds we were travelling at, it would be like hitting concrete if anybody went into the water.

Jackal had the conn and he was in the left-hand seat; his left hand on the wheel and his right on the twin throttles that were located on the centreline. The GPS showed us travelling at 58.6-knots – almost seventy miles-per-hour. Not bad when you considered the overall weight of the craft, plus passengers and equipment. I rode beside Jackal – behind me was Shadow, with Psyche to her left, behind them were Crimson and Nemesis.

On the twin screens before me and Jackal were a chart with a flashing marker which indicated the expected location of our target and on the other screen a FLIR image of the sea ahead. So far, nothing was visible on the FLIR but we fervently expected that to change. Every member on board was connected up to the cordless internal communications system so we could converse between ourselves which was not easy considering the pounding of the craft over the waves and the roar of the twin engines.

I had never gone into battle in such a way before and it was exhilarating.

* * *

 ** _Forty-two minutes later_**

 ** _59nm south of Cartagena  
Position: 36.6076° N 1.1551° W_**

We had found them.

They were a little over two hundred yards ahead and to port of us. So far, there had been no alarm but anything was possible as we continued our stealthy approach. Our target was a veritable monster; she was over 240-feet long and she displaced 2,200-tonnes of seawater. There were six decks, one of which was a private Owner's Deck. There would be a lot to search and with a 20-man crew, plus a security detail of unknown size, we expected to have only seconds aboard.

The mega-yacht was dimly lit and cruised at nineteen knots on an arrow straight course which aimed the bow of the vessel directly for the Pillars of Hercules and the Strait of Gibraltar with the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

..._...

We approached the stern to port and matched the yacht's speed through the water, the white water of our own wake readily mixed in with that of the yacht's own wake and helped to prevent, or at least postpone, our discovery.

We came alongside the transom and secured the RIB to a mooring post. Jackal cut the engines and we all jumped aboard the _Cummings Delight_. I could see movement three decks above but we were black forms moving against a black ocean. The transom hatch was sealed and we would not be able to open it without setting off alarms, however, it would make a perfect escape route – although, I fervently hoped it would not be needed...

After we had stripped off our helmets and lifejackets, we separated into our three teams – Hit Girl and Nemesis, Jackal and Crimson, Shadow and Psyche. Nemesis and I, along with Shadow and Psyche, took the port staircase that led upwards and onto the Main Deck while the others took the opposite, starboard, staircase which led to the same place but would take them in a different direction. We held our suppressed SIG MPX-SD submachine guns before us as we went, ready to drop anybody as silently as possible.

..._...

The Main Deck was impressive. Ahead, of us there was a spiral staircase which led upwards to the Upper Deck, on either side of the staircase were comfortable square couches and tables. Ahead, and to port of a sliding glass door were stairs that led below to the vessel's boat garage – Shadow and Psyche headed that way.

We made our way down the portside towards the bow. There was a lot of distance to cover and every possibility of being discovered as we scuttled along the dimly lit teak decks. It was the most direct route to the bridge which was our first target of the night.

* * *

 ** _Course: 248°, Speed: 19 knots_**

 ** _Cummings Delight_**

 ** _Main Deck  
Starboard Side_**

 ** _Jackal and Crimson_**

Jackal led the way down the starboard side while I kept a good eye on our rear so that there could be no surprises.

We could hear voices and laughter from inside the enormous yacht. I prayed that our incursion would go unnoticed for as long as possible. The deck seemed like it was a mile long; we never seemed to reach the end but then we were at our intermediate destination approximately amidships. Jackal took up position to one side of a sliding glass door, while I kept watch down the deck from the after side.

Jackal gently eased the sliding door open and while he covered the deck, I moved inside the yacht and found myself facing a spiral staircase that led up and down. Forward of us was the main accommodation for guests and aft of us were the main dining areas. I kept watch on the corridor that led forward and the door that led aft.

Jackal moved inside and he slid the door closed behind him.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck  
Port Side_**

 ** _Hit Girl and Nemesis_**

We had made our way two-thirds of the length of the ship without being spotted which was perfect.

We entered the vessel via a crew entrance. The vessel had segregated crew quarters and passageways so the crew could be all but invisible as they worked and moved about the giant yacht. That would work for us, I hoped, as we made for a staircase that would come out directly aft of the bridge.

"Who are...?" A voice called out.

The man said no more as Nemesis rammed her knife into his heart and placed a hand over his mouth as his body convulsed into a heart attack. The security guard suffered greatly before he succumbed and we both shoved his still warm corpse into a convenient locker.

"Well done!" I whispered and I received a nod in return.

We turned back towards the stairs and Nemesis went first; she moved step by step until she could see into the next deck.

* * *

 ** _Lower Deck_**

 ** _Shadow and Psyche_**

We had made our way down onto the lower deck and we were in the crew area.

I kept watch while Shadow opened the hatch into the boat garage. We passed between the large RIB and the tender plus several jet skis. There was no sign of any crewmembers as we passed into the main boarding area which spread from beam to beam.

As we entered the crews' quarters our luck began to run out and that was when we found _him_.

* * *

 ** _Upper Deck  
Bridge_**

 ** _Hit Girl and Nemesis_**

The three men on the Bridge never noticed the two shapes as they converged on them out of the darkness.

Two men were in high-backed Captain's chairs while the third was at the chart table. The closest man suddenly braced up as he felt a stinging pain on his neck and he became very aware of the armour clad arm that came around his left side and held a knife to his throat.

The man at the chart table started to move but a strong hand rammed his head forwards and down _into_ the chart. The Perspex cover to the chart shattered and the chart began to soak up the spilled blood as the man slid to the deck.

"Don't fucking move!" The third man was warned as a submachine gun was pointed directly at his head.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck  
Forward_**

 ** _Jackal and Crimson_**

We headed forwards, away from the obvious danger.

At the end of the corridor there was a left turn and I covered Crimson while she went around the corner where we made a sharp right into the main guest accommodation. There were four large staterooms on the deck and we had to check each one for anybody who might be on our target list.

I listened at the first door to port and heard nothing. I carefully and stealthily pushed the door open – the cabin was empty. There was a tablet lying on the bed so I grabbed it and shoved it into a Faraday bag. I stowed the device in a pouch on my back and moved back out to the corridor where Crimson kept watch. Next came the opposite stateroom, which was just as empty.

As we moved down the corridor towards the pair of forward staterooms, I noted a sound – was that giggling? The noise came from the port stateroom, so we checked out the starboard one first and as we gently pushed open the door, we noticed that the stateroom was in darkness and we could hear steady breathing that came from the large bed against the forward bulkhead.

While Crimson stood watch, I moved towards the bed and switched on the bedside light.

* * *

 ** _Thirty-six miles astern  
Ocean Vigilante_**

 ** _The Command Centre_**

Abby was staring so hard at the screen that Commander Perrin was certain that the screen might actually explode under her intense stare.

Suddenly, there was a muted beep and white text began to stream down the screen. Abby dived forwards and she began to hammer away at the keyboard. A minute later, she sat back with a huge grin on her face.

"Yes!" She exclaimed.

"Well?"

"Looks like somebody planted their device – I've got hundreds of megabytes already..."

"If you say so, young lady!"

* * *

 ** _Thirty-six miles ahead  
Cummings Delight_**

 ** _Main Deck  
Forward_**

 ** _Jackal and Crimson_**

As the light came on, the man in the bed turned and his eyes opened.

The moment when you are awoken is often one of intense confusion, especially when you wake up in a bed that is not your own. It was the same for the chap before us; his confusion at the rude awakening was total.

The man's name was Nathan Hockley and he was a complete bastard, so I was not about to regret my next action.

* * *

I heard the muted grunt of pain as Jackal rammed a knife into the man's heart.

In my mind, I could visualise the blade cutting the heart in two and spilling huge amounts of blood into the chest cavity – it was unfortunate, but the man would die quickly. I wished for more, but we did not have the time. Hockley, was the CIA agent who was to blame for the massacre – it was the only name for it – of twenty-six children, in Milan.

Jackal reappeared and he closed the stateroom door behind him. I nodded and we moved onto the final stateroom which was still emitting giggling sounds.

* * *

 ** _Upper Deck  
Bridge_**

 ** _Hit Girl and Nemesis_**

The two conscious men on the Bridge were now secured with flexi-cuffs and makeshift gags.

I had connected up one of Abby's devices into a network point on the Bridge console. The LEDs on the device had changed to green which apparently indicated a successful connection and that the upload of data had begun.

"You two be good now," I said as I pulled the two throttle levers to the stop position on the console.

I led Nemesis out onto the starboard Bridge Wing and then we both headed aft to the next set of steps which led down to the Main Deck.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck  
Forward_**

 ** _Jackal and Crimson_**

We both braced for what we were going to find.

"Ewww!" Crimson hissed.

Neither of the occupants of the bed had noticed our arrival – they were totally occupied in some very rampant love making.

"Bit like you and Shadow..."

From our viewpoint, we could see a hairy ass as it pounded away into the woman whose long, shapely legs were visible writhing on the bed beneath the man. Neither were very quiet either. The giggling was coming from the woman and the man was grunting each time that he thrust deep inside his lover.

Crimson stepped forwards and she dug the muzzle of her suppressed MPX-SD into the man's side; he stopped fucking his woman. The woman opened her eyes and then her mouth to scream as she saw the masked intruders. I aimed my pistol at her face and simply shook my head; she closed her mouth. Despite her lack of clothes, I recognised the woman from our files: Emily Jacobs – she was on the capture list. Her sex buddy, he was _not_ on any list – lucky for him.

"Who are you?" I demanded as Crimson hauled the naked man off the bed and onto the deck.

"Fuck you!"

He was British – MI5?

"You're lucky, I have no orders for you..." I growled as I pistol whipped him hard enough to put him out cold.

I turned to the woman who was trying to cover herself up – I had to admit that she had a nice body which was currently all perked up...

"You, however, are coming with us, honey..."

"You can't..."

"That's such a horrible word!" Crimson growled as she stuffed the woman's own panties into her mouth.

Crimson followed up by flipping the naked women over and she zip-tied her hands tightly behind her back.

"Hope that doesn't hurt too much..." Crimson threw in as the woman was dragged off the bed and then towards the door.

Muffled screams were heard through the panties and the woman's eyes were wide with fear. We pushed her out of the door and then down the corridor towards the main entertaining parts of the yacht. As we passed a head, we shoved her inside and zip-tied her ankles together before we hogtied her ankles to her wrists.

"Be good!" I chuckled as I closed the door on her.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck  
Amidships_**

 ** _Hit Girl and Nemesis  
Jackal and Crimson_**

"About fucking time!"

Hit Girl was _not_ amused by our late arrival.

"We had some packing to do..." I explained.

"Packing?" Nemesis echoed.

"Jackal found himself a naked woman," Crimson stated.

"Okay..." Hit Girl reasoned. "There are eight sitting down to dinner in there. Six guards are patrolling the Dining Room and the Main Salon – no heavy weapons are in evidence but we can't discount that. The Bridge is neutralised for now and we took out one guard. Three crew members are down."

"We've neutralised two guests and hogtied another," Crimson added. "Any sign of the dynamic duo?"

"No, they are still down below," Hit Girl replied.

"Crimson and I will head aft and come in from there – give us two minutes to get into position," I suggested.

"Have fun!" Hit Girl growled.

* * *

 ** _Lower Deck  
Crew Quarters_**

 ** _Shadow and Psyche_**

Shadow was behind me as we went, our suppressed MPX-SD submachine guns raised before us. A door suddenly opened to our left and I saw somebody step out directly ahead of us – it was a boy; he reacted almost instantly to the sight of two black-clad individuals armed with submachine guns: he attacked. We were ready for this; we knew that we might come across _Urban Predator_ kids. I had decided that they were _not_ to be killed outright – they had to be given the chance to surrender.

The kid was good – the first thing he did was successfully disarm me. I fought back – he had a few inches on me and the boy was probably around eleven-years-old. Late Phase 2, I decided as I examined his fighting style. Shadow was unable to help as the corridor was too narrow. I was actually surprised that the boy had not yet sounded the alarm; he smiled as he fought – a nice smile, I thought.

I think Shadow must have noticed that I was unknowingly toying with the boy – she coughed.

"Okay!" I growled quietly and I rammed my elbow into the boy's neck.

He sank to the deck and for a moment, he struggled to breathe, but then he sprang back up again. I punched him in the stomach and he kicked me hard in the left thigh which sent a wave of pain throughout my body.

'Fuck this!' I thought as I grabbed his arm and flipped him over and down to the deck where he landed on his back. I dived on top of him, my left knee deep in his crotch and my right lower arm across his throat.

" _Enough_ ," I growled, "I know you are _Urban Predator_ but that fucking shitstorm of an abortion is finished!"

The boy seemed shocked that I knew what he was.

"Yeah, I know about it; I was one of you – once upon a time... Stephanie Walker; maybe you've heard of me?"

I had meant that last bit as a joke but the boy immediately stopped his struggling and he looked stunned for some reason.

" _You_ are Stephanie Walker – Psyche?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah..."

"You're famous – you're the only Phase 2 to _ever_ get their codename..." he replied in awe.

"Oh, fuck!" I growled and I was very pleased that my mask covered up any blushing. "Well, I'm no longer with the program – you Phase 2?"

"Yeah, I suck – but being put down by you wasn't so bad; you have a reputation..."

I smirked at that comment – but Shadow growled.

"Any chance you could take your knee out of my groin?"

"Yeah..." I replied without having properly thought things through.

..._...

Bad move, Stephanie!

As I removed my knee, the yacht shifted and my arm came off his neck but before I could flip him over and secure his wrists...

"You fucking traitor!" The boy growled and he kneed me between the legs, which was not as painful as it could have been, thanks to the combat suit – and yeah, it hurts girls too!

He flipped me backwards where I was caught by Shadow – she kicked out and caught the boy in the side of his head and he went down hard. Either the crew were heavy sleepers, or they were not in their cabins – we were making quite a bit of noise as we fought... We dragged him into a kind of closet off the main passageway and I retrieved my MPX-SD en route.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck  
Amidships_**

 ** _Hit Girl and Nemesis_**

At the two-minute mark, Nemesis and I moved into the Dining Room but we remained in the alcove by the door.

There was a lot of chatter and some laughter at the large table which could comfortably seat twelve diners but which for the moment only held eight. I heard the sound of suppressed gunshots from the after end of the deck in the Main Salon and then saw Crimson appear in a doorway over to port.

The chatter ceased abruptly as a guard noticed our entry and he went for his pistol but he was dropped by a single shot from Nemesis. The remaining two guards kept their hands visible and they did not go for their weapons.

Jackal appeared in the starboard doorway and he raised three fingers – three other guards were dead or otherwise incapacitated.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck  
Aft_**

 ** _Jackal and Crimson_**

There had been three guards chatting away in the Main Salon as we had entered.

They had been easy prey and I had dropped two while Crimson had taken the third as they had reached for their weapons. Now, we stood watch over the Main Salon and the after end of the Dining Room but we could hear what was unfolding in the next space.

"You must be Hit Girl... Noah has been telling us about you. A fearless young vigilante, brought up by her father as a weapon to take down the D'Amico mob family. I am also very aware of why you are hunting down Noah and his valiant team..."

"You support..." Hit Girl interjected.

"Don't interrupt me, young lady," Cummings said sharply as she cut Hit Girl off.

Ouch – Mindy would _not_ like that!

"Yes," Cummings continued in an even tone. "I support _Urban Predator_ – I see it as immensely profitable..."

"You fucking bitch!" Hit Girl growled menacingly.

Cummings chuckled.

" _You_ were the template for _Urban Predator_ , _you_ showed what a young child was capable of once provided with the right training and stimuli. If anybody is to blame for _Urban Predator_ , it would be your father for creating _you_."

"How dare you put anything on my father – you have made an enemy of me, which is a big mistake. All those who have stood against me have fallen and you shall join that ever-growing list."

"No, Hit Girl, I shall be the first to stop you and _Fusion_ in your tracks..."

* * *

 ** _Lower Deck  
Crew Quarters_**

 ** _Shadow and Psyche_**

He was still conscious and he looked pissed as Shadow secured his hands with zip-ties. I pulled my knife and placed it to his neck.

"You say I have a reputation – what reputation might that be?"

"They say that you are a cold, ruthless killer and that anybody who pisses you off dies at your hands," the boy replied sullenly. "Rumour has it that you killed another girl who was four years older than you – naked – would have paid to see that one... Ahhh!"

"Hurts, doesn't it!" I laughed. "What's your name?"

"Psyche, we haven't got time for this..." Shadow growled impatiently.

"Nice!" The boy said as he looked up at Shadow and took in her curves from head to toe and he noticeably paused at her chest and crotch.

"Remind you of anybody?" I chuckled before I turned serious. "Give us your name; we can help you..."

"I am no traitor; I protect my country and I fight for..."

"Yada, yada, yada – heard it all before; star Phase 2 trainee, remember, so shut the fuck up! _Urban Predator_ is coming apart and we are taking it down, piece by fucking piece. It's time to pick which side you want to end up on when the dust finally settles..."

That was when the alarm sounded – we left the boy tied up and we ran.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck  
Amidships_**

 ** _Hit Girl and Nemesis_**

Hit Girl was focussed on Susan Cummings and I figured that that was probably a bad idea, so I had kept my senses peaked for anything.

I was very glad that I had, too, as within minutes, I heard the sounds of many feet pounding down the decks beyond the windows and also from the other side of the nearest bulkhead. Then an alarm began to sound – we were rumbled.

I dived down behind the bar in time to see six armed men burst out from the crew entrance to the Dining Room. They had MP5 submachine guns in their hands and they opened fire immediately. Hit Girl dived for the deck as the bullets hit the wall behind her. Everybody at the table dived to the floor.

I dropped two of the guards before _I_ then became a target.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck  
Aft_**

 ** _Jackal and Crimson_**

I saw the men pounding down the port side and I yelled out a warning to Jackal.

We both turned to face the sliding glass doors as both were flung open and a pair of flashbangs were flung inside. At the sight of the grenades we both dived to the floor and covered our eyes from the impending flash.

The loud detonation of the grenade followed the ultra-bright flash that was visible through our gauntlets and I rolled behind a large couch.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck  
Amidships_**

 ** _Hit Girl and Nemesis_**

The original guards had drawn their weapons and joined in the fight.

We had only one way to go and that was the way we had come. I went first while Nemesis covered our withdrawal. I intended to head out to the starboard deck but the glass door there shattered as machine gun fire tried to cut us down. We dived for the spiral staircase and headed upwards to the Upper Deck. We came under fire the moment we set foot on the Upper Deck and men were coming down from the Sun Deck so we had only one direction left open to use – towards the Owner's Suite.

I threw a smoke grenade and we ran through a two deck high office and then turned right up some stairs. The smoke seemed to have slowed down our pursuers for just a few minutes, so we were able to take stock of our situation.

"I have twenty-four rounds left," Nemesis advised.

"Twenty-one..." I replied sourly as I reinserted my own magazine.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck  
Aft_**

 ** _Shadow and Psyche_**

We bounded up the aft staircase and found a major gunfight underway.

I dived forwards and stabbed the nearest guard through his neck; he dropped his weapon and fell to the deck in a large pool of blood. One of his colleagues turned and I put three bullets into his face – his grin had annoyed me.

Shadow dived past me like the shadow she was and she sent a short burst into two of the guards before they could turn around. Another dived directly at me and I rolled to my side and put two rounds into his chest as he came down onto the deck; he landed on top of my legs and pinned me.

Jackal was there in a moment and he hauled the man's deadweight off me and then he quickly hauled me to my feet as Crimson backed out of the Main Salon. Jackal and Crimson took off forward up the portside while we headed aft to secure the RIB.

* * *

 ** _Owner's Suite_**

 ** _Hit Girl and Nemesis_**

There was only one way out of the Owner's Suite and that was via the staircase that we had entered by.

I smirked as I noticed another potential exit – there were two glass doors set into the forward windows which led onto a private balcony that went nowhere.

"Nemesis – cover me!"

While Nemesis covered the staircase and sent random bursts in the same general direction, I kicked open the portside door. I turned to call Nemesis over just as a flashbang grenade flew up the stairs. I grabbed Nemesis and we dove out onto the balcony just as the grenade exploded and turned night into day for several seconds.

I had covered Nemesis' eyes and buried my own into her back as we had landed, so our night vision was protected and our masks had shielded our ears from the debilitating bang. As the flash subsided, I opened my eyes and turned to see armed men appear in the Owner's Suite.

"Move it!" I growled and we both threw ourselves onto the roof of the Bridge as bullets shattered the windows behind us.

We skidded across the surface and for a moment I thought we were going to fall overboard but Nemesis with great presence of mind, dug her knife into the roof to both slow us down and to angle us towards the bow.

* * *

 ** _Upper Deck  
Forward_**

 ** _Jackal and Crimson_**

"What the fuck was that?"

"Must be Hit Girl..."

"Holy fuck – _Hit Girl_!" Crimson exclaimed as two shapes dropped onto the deck before us.

"Nice entrance, girls!" I grinned and shook my head as I chuckled.

"Totally planned..." Hit Girl growled as she nonchalantly untangled herself from her MPX-SD.

"Bridge crew are still asleep but things are definitely warming up," I reported.

"Let's find Shadow and Psyche and get the fuck off this bucket of bolts," Hit Girl ordered.

* * *

 ** _Main Deck_**

 ** _Hit Girl and Nemesis  
Jackal and Crimson_**

We pounded down the starboard deck and took out anything in our way.

As we cleared the starboard side, we negotiated the dead bodies which littered the Quarter Deck and we all dived down the staircase to the Lower Deck and I was much relieved to see Shadow and my daughter waiting impatiently beside the RIB. Both had already pulled on their lifejackets and helmets.

We all followed suit and as soon as we were ready, Jackal made to start the engines just as _Cummings Delight_ began to move ahead.

* * *

 ** _Cutlass_**

The assault boat was tipped onto its beam ends as the mega-yacht accelerated.

Jackal severed the painter which secured us to the yacht but not before the RIB had turned over completely and thrown us all into the churning water. We all swam away from the yacht's speeding propellers that threatened to chop us to pieces. Our lifejackets inflated as we each tugged the inflation handle. The lifejackets were of a special design and when inflated, were not Day-Glo orange.

We all followed a strict procedure for this event and while we all moved away from the inverted RIB, we remained within a short distance. Nemesis swam over to the overturned RIB and she steadily worked her way around to the stern.

"Quick – she's coming around!" Jackal yelled as he saw the yacht's aspect change.

Nemesis reached down, underwater, to where the base of the A-frame would have been and yanked at a short length of line. There was a loud bang and a giant inflation bag, located at the apex of the A-frame inflated and the sudden increase in buoyancy caused the RIB to rapidly flip over, back onto its keel in a matter of only six seconds. We all made for the sides near to the stern and heaved ourselves aboard. Jackal quickly jumped into his seat and he reset all the electronics before he hit the start buttons.

The sealed engines promptly sprang to life as Shadow pulled back the charging handle of the Minimi in the bow and she sent short bursts towards the approaching yacht; the green tracer rounds readily visible in the dark sky.

* * *

 ** _Cummings Delight_**

 ** _Bridge_**

"Get them!"

Susan Cummings was beyond pissed and well past livid: _Those bastards almost destroyed my yacht!_

"Yes, ma'am!" The Captain replied as he set a course for his helmsman.

The two tied up crewmen had been released and were back at their controls. The third crewman was being treated for a severe concussion and the many cuts and bruises to his face.

"Fourteen of the guard force are dead, ma'am..."

"I want them – find their mothership..."

Susan Cummings ducked involuntarily as green tracer fire streaked past the Bridge windows. Machine guns mounted on the Sun Deck above opened fire, sending red tracers back down the same track as the green tracers.

* * *

 ** _Cutlass  
Course: 095°, Speed: 61.5 knots_**

Jackal pushed the engines as hard as he could.

To try and prevent Cummings from tracking us back to the _Ocean Vigilante_ , we were on a course towards Africa. We were well out of range of the weapons on the _Cummings Delight_ but she was still coming after us at speed.

"So you never planted the explosives in the engine room?" Hit Girl inquired of Shadow and Psyche.

"Unfortunately, no – we were side-tracked by an _Urban Predator_ wannabe," Shadow growled back.

"Never mind – they were better prepared than we had expected; however, we did uncover some crucial intel," Hit Girl finished.

Jackal got on the radio.

" _Oscar Victor_ , _Cutlass_ , over..."


	21. Mediterranean Action Stations

**_Wednesday, May 4th 2016_**

 ** _Ocean Vigilante  
42nm southeast of Almeria  
Position: 36.3764° N 1.9032° W  
Course: 231°, Speed: 23 knots, 594nm logged_**

The atmosphere, both on the Bridge and in the Command Centre, was tense.

Despite the fact that they both had decades of training behind them and years as commanding officers, both men were very worried. Both men had daughters in harm's way and thought neither would admit it, they were both desperate to hear from them. Both men paced the Bridge and threatened to wear their way through the deck.

Cameron was at the helm and he was just as worried as the two naval officers; he also had a loved one in harm's way and being at the helm had provided him with a suitable distraction. Abby and Hailee were in the Command Centre where they both awaited some form of contact from the assault team.

" _Oscar Victor_ , _Cutlass_ , over..."

Abby sprang into action.

" _Cutlass_ , _Oscar Victor_ , we have you on a bearing of 197-degrees..." Abby responded instantly.

"Helm – alter course to 197..." Commander Perrin called out and Cameron dutifully altered course to port.

" _Oscar Victor_ , _Cutlass_ , altering course onto 017-degrees..." Jackal called.

* * *

 ** _Thirty minutes later_**

 ** _The Bridge_**

"Thank God!"

"My sentiments exactly, Dave..." Commander Bennett agreed as the assault boat came into view.

"One, two, three, four, five, six – all accounted for," Commander Perrin commented in a somewhat relieved tone.

"Stop engines!" Commander Bennett called.

* * *

 ** _The Bow_**

The moment the assault boat settled onto its chocks, a cheer arose from those who watched from the Bridge Wings.

Hit Girl pulled off her mask and she seemed to through herself over the side of the RIB and into my waiting arms. I kissed her like I had never kissed anybody before and I ignored the rush of people as they pushed past us. I broke away from my wife to grab hold of my daughter as she pulled off her own mask and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"It's so good to see you both safe."

* * *

 ** _The Bridge_**

"Dad!"

Cassie ran to her father and hugged him tightly. Commander Perrin hugged his daughter and silently thanked God for his daughter's safe return. Across the bridge, Chloe ran into her own father's arms.

"Chloe, one of these damn days, you're gonna give me a goddamn heart attack..."

"I know, Daddy," Chloe replied with a grin.

At the helm, Cameron hugged his twin sister and they both took a moment together.

"You stink!" Cameron commented as they separated.

"That all the appreciation I get?" Natasha growled at her brother who just laughed.

"She's not the only one," Ryan Bennett said with a grin at his fifteen-year-old-daughter.

"I love you, too, Daddy..." Chloe replied sarcastically.

"I know," Cassie said to her father," I stink too, so no need to say anything."

"I would never comment on a young lady's potentially offensive aroma..."

"Thanks, Dad..."

"Well, stinky girl, fancy sharing a shower?" Joshua asked Chloe as he appeared on the bridge with Mindy, Stephanie and Dave.

"Oh, brother!" Stephanie moaned as Joshua began to kiss Chloe.

"Yeah..." Commander Bennett commented as he wandered off into the Command Centre.

"They kissing?" Abby asked the Commander.

"Yeah..."

* * *

 ** _Thursday, May 5th 2016  
Early that morning_**

 ** _Master Stateroom  
Main Deck, Forward_**

"Night, Dave..."

"Night, gorgeous..."

Dave leant over and he gently kissed me on the lips as I closed my eyes. Dave had taken it upon himself to wash me from head to toe before he tenderly dried my body and then carried me to my bed.

It had been a very busy day and I was very, very tired...

* * *

 **Sometime later**

I came awake with a start.

Something had awoken me, but I had no idea what . . . it was still very dark, but there was an eerie, fiery glow from outside and that was when our world began to come apart.

There was an almighty, thunderous explosion and I found myself thrown violently onto the floor beside the bed. I shook my head and quickly sat up, full of confusion, and I was promptly crushed as the yacht lurched violently to port and Dave landed on top of me.

"Get the fuck off me," I growled. "What's going on?"

The General Alarm was sounding but then it was replaced by the much more ominous Flooding Alarm and then the Fire Alarm. In the back of my mind I hoped that the flooding would counteract the fire. Dave rolled off me and I tried to scramble towards the door as my similarly confused husband responded.

"Damned if I know, but I think we might just be sinking!"

I had a bad feeling that Dave's comment was about to become the understatement of the century.

..._...

There was a very bright and a rather ominous glow visible beyond the stateroom windows on the port side, but before I could contemplate more, I fell against the bulkhead as the yacht lurched again, almost as violently as before. Dave threw me a lifejacket and I pulled it over my head and secured it around my waist, but for the moment, I did not inflate it. Dave did the same with his own and once we were both ready, I pulled open the stateroom door and Dave followed me down the passageway that led aft from our stateroom.

As I approached the port and starboard staterooms, I called out for Chloe and Joshua and I banged hard on the bulkhead but before I could call out for Hailee and Cassie in the opposite stateroom, a torrent of cold, salty water flooded down the corridor and it swept Dave and me back into our stateroom.

..._...

I gagged on the water as I swallowed a large mouthful; it tasted foul and I coughed it back up again. I felt a hand seize my lifejacket harness and I was dragged against the then slackening flow of water as Dave hauled us both out of the stateroom. I was very relieved as I saw Joshua and Chloe ahead of us; Joshua pushed through the water, clinging onto both Chloe and the railing that ran down the corridor. The flow of water was lessening which made our advance easier – although the lessening flow just indicated that the yacht was steadily filling with water.

Once Dave and I had made it to the staircase, I found a hand as it reached out for me and Joshua used his considerable strength to heave me out of the water and onto the stairs beside Chloe. I immediately turned and ran up to the Upper Deck where I turned immediately right for the Bridge.

As I reached for the handle on the door that led to the Bridge Corridor, I heard the tannoy come to life – it was Commander Perrin.

"All hands, abandon ship! All hands, abandon ship!"

His announcement was followed by seven short blasts and one long blast on the ship's siren. I had no idea what disaster had befallen _Ocean Vigilante_ , but whatever it was, she was terminal, at least to the eyes of an experienced naval officer. However, if I thought that it could not get any worse, I was very, very wrong...

..._...

There was carnage on the Bridge.

"NO!" I exclaimed as I took in the sight before me.

A bloody Cassie looked up at me with anguish spread across her face.

"I'm so sorry Mindy – she was thrown by the explosion; her neck's broken," Cassie explained as she knelt on the deck and hugged the lifeless body of a young girl.

Wildcat would never fight again. I felt the anger rise from deep inside me and then came the sadness...

"Place Megan on the upper deck and inflate her lifejacket – her body can then be recovered. For now, we need to pay attention to the living..."

It was harsh and it was cold, but it was the reality of the situation.

..._...

"What was it?" I demanded as I turned to Commander Perrin.

"An explosion amidships – no idea what... I am sorry, Mindy, I really am... This'll be the second vessel that I'll have swum from..."

I pulled Cassie to her feet and helped her with my younger sister. She was literally a deadweight as we carried her out onto the Upper Deck. I took a moment and held Megan's limp, but still warm hand tightly before I yanked the lanyard which would inflate her lifejacket once we were out on the Upper Deck and we had placed the body down gently.

I found Dave in the act of heaving a liferaft over the side. I could see he was mad and I saw his expression harden even further at the sight of Megan's lifeless body. I saw the sadness in his eyes as he grabbed another liferaft and checked below before he then heaved it over the stern. I was having great difficulty keeping my footing as _Ocean Vigilante_ listed to port, so I made my way below and with great joy, I saw the twins in the water; their lifejackets already inflated.

When I turned my attentions back inboard, I found a stunned Stephanie as she lay against the portside railings; she had blood coming from a nasty-looking head wound, but there was no time to see to the wound as _Ocean Vigilante_ entered her death throes with yet another violent lurch. I grabbed my daughter and dived overboard.

..._...

As I surfaced, I quickly swam away from the towering superstructure of the yacht as she threatened to capsize on top of us both. Our lifejackets had burst to life on contact with the water and for no Stephanie's head remained above water despite her feeble attempts at swimming. Then I heard two loud explosions as Dave yanked the lanyards on the two floating fibre-glass canisters which promptly came apart and the rubber liferafts inside inflated, rapidly took shape and within seconds they became ready for boarding.

I saw Joshua; he was swimming towards me.

"Get in the raft; you can help others board," I ordered and Joshua nodded.

Without delay, Joshua climbed into the raft, with some difficulty in the rising swell, and he fell inside. He reappeared a few seconds later and I passed up a shivering Stephanie who was almost unresponsive. Joshua placed her gently against an inflated thwart and then he returned to the doorway to pull in the twins, both of whom were heaved aboard in one go and told to sit with their sister.

..._...

The other liferaft was being boarded by Hailee and Abby. They were joined by Spook, Eric and Mathilda. Ryan and Natasha climbed in after me. Cassie and her father added to the complement of the other raft. There was no sign of Cameron, despite his twin sister's desperate yells for him. It appeared that two would never reach land alive again.

I looked at the dishevelled, bloody form of Stephanie and for a moment I considered raising that number to three...

Dave and Spook fought to secure the two liferafts with a painter to stop them drifting apart. Joshua was issuing orders as it was imperative that we secure the liferafts from the elements and maintain as much heat as possible so that we might survive the night and be rescued. I took a brief moment to stare out of the opening that formed the liferaft's doorway. I could see _Ocean Vigilante_ , her stern rose into the air as the bow went under, the entire vessel at a fifty-degree angle to port. I could hear equipment as it broke free and crashed around inside the vessel.

Then there was a large explosion from amidships as the yacht blew up. The last thing I saw was a chunk of purple superstructure as it flew towards me and then I felt pain like I had never felt before and...

..._...

I heard a voice talking to me.

"This is not the way, Child – you can change this... It comes from the right..."

* * *

 ** _Master Stateroom  
Main Deck, Forward_**

I came awake with a start.

Something had awoken me, but I had no idea what . . . it was still very dark, then it all came flooding back to me... I nudged Dave.

"Wake up – we're under attack!"

Dave came instantly awake as I stabbed the button on the phone for the Bridge.

"Mindy..." It was Commander Perrin in his usual cheery tone despite the early hour.

"Sound Action Stations, General Threat Warning Red!"

The man did not hesitate. Almost before the phone had cut off, I heard the General Alarm as it pulsed throughout _Ocean Vigilante_ and then cut off six seconds later.

"Hands to Action Stations! Hands to Action Stations!"

It was the perpetually calm voice of Commander Perrin.

"Mindy?" Dave asked as he grabbed his lifejacket and weapons, mirroring my own actions.

"I'll explain later..."

..._...

I ran out of the cabin and down the passageway. I took the stairs to the Upper Deck, two at a time, before I burst through two more doors and finally onto the bridge.

 _'...It comes from the right...'_

"Hard-a-starboard!" I yelled out and Cassie dived for the rudder controls while a shocked Megan just stared at my sudden appearance.

As _Ocean Vigilante_ came around to the right, there was an eerie, fiery glow and then a bright orange flash and an unguided rocket flew out of the darkness and straight down the portside, parallel to the vessel's new course. Everybody on the Bridge looked stunned, however, it was Cassie who voiced everyone's thoughts.

"If we had not turned..."

Commander Perrin snapped us all out of it.

"Let's show the bastards what happens when they miss..." He reached for the tannoy. "All guns – weapons free! Threat Axis red four-five to green four-five."

That axis put the enemy somewhere off our bow as we were then pointed very roughly towards where the rocket had originated from.

* * *

 **Bridge Deck, Forward**

On the deck above and just abaft the Bridge, the operators of the forward gun mounts jumped into action. The anti-flash clad Mathilda and Hailee had been in position for mere seconds. Their weapons were already mounted and ready, so all they needed to do was lift the red cover that protected the arming switches and they then each flicked their switch beneath, upwards. Each crewmember covered their own arc; Mathilda to port and Hailee to starboard, each girl depressed the 'Low Rate' trigger with their right thumbs and the forward M134 mini-guns ripped out into the night and a vivid stream of tracers arced out towards the area from where the rocket had originated.

After several short bursts there was an explosion as something was struck repeatedly – the target appeared small and was probably an inflatable of some kind, which would explain why it had never appeared on the radar and therefore provided advanced warning of the attack.

"Check fire! Check fire!" Came the order and the two girls instantly released their triggers. "Target destroyed!"

* * *

 **The Bridge**

"Contact – contact to starboard, range fourteen nautical miles, just coming over the radar horizon!"

Our radar, mounted ten-metres above the ocean could see two miles further than our mark one eyeballs. The only problem? We had no idea what the contact was. It could be a cruise ship with two-thousand souls aboard. That was the unreal dilemma understood by many a naval mariner during war at sea over the centuries.

I dived into the Command Centre abaft the Bridge

* * *

 ** _The Command Centre_**

"Contact is heading in our direction..." Abby confirmed as she studied the symbols on the large computer screen before her.

The contact was currently marked as a yellow cross, which indicated an unknown vessel. We had to make a decision _before_ we came under attack again. Thankfully, Marty was still awake and he, along with Eric in the Main Salon, was collating information on every merchant vessel that was currently plying their trade in the western Mediterranean.

It took sixteen excruciating minutes as we logged five nautical miles before Marty was able to give us an eighty-eight percent chance that the target was _not_ an innocent civilian vessel.

"Range: eighteen thousand yards..." Abby announced.

"What do we do?" I asked and I looked to the two Commanding Officers for help. "Those odds suck..."

"Damned if we do and damned if we don't," Ryan chuckled. "That's why they pay us COs the big bucks!"

"You get the big bucks?" Commander Perrin inquired with a grin.

"Maybe not big..."

"You two geniuses are _not_ helping!" I groused.

"Give it... what, another minute?" Ryan asked his opposite number from the Royal Navy as he studied the radar screen.

"Yeah..." The Royal Navy Commander agreed.

"What?" I demanded as I watched the two very calm men as they nonchalantly drank their coffee – I was _anything_ but calm; I was very much outside of my usual comfort zone.

..._...

One very long and excruciating minute later...

"Jamming: green eight-five... Contact is classified as hostile!" Abby exclaimed. "Designate contact as Tango One."

I scowled at the two grinning Naval Officers as the symbol on the display changed from the yellow cross to a red diamond, which indicated a hostile vessel. The radar now automatically switched to a frequency-agile mode as it continued to track the target and ignored all the attempts to jam the outgoing signal.

I was annoyed at the Commanders' antics but I greatly valued their experience.

* * *

 ** _Bridge Deck, Forward_**

"Range: fifty-four-hundred yards... Bearing: green one-eight"

On the foredeck, directly ahead of the Bridge and between the two forward M134 mini-guns, Dave was readying a Spike missile for launch and he aimed the missile at the indicated bearing of the target. Aft, on the Sky Deck above, Joshua was doing the same, however, his firing point was masked by the superstructure. Dave would get the first shot and he activated the Command Unit, powered up the missile and the associated targeting systems. He pressed the 'LASE' button to activate the missile's seeker and he quickly found the approaching target and hit the 'LASE' button once again. The targeting system quickly indicated a lock on the approaching vessel.

"Range: forty-two-hundred yards..."

The approaching vessel was in range... Dave hit the 'FIRE' button and with a puff of smoke and a loud bang, the missile was on its way through the air and it trailed the thin guidance wire behind it. Dave would keep his eye to the sight and therefore ensure that the weapon hit home.

Our first ever, live warshot missile had been fired!

* * *

 ** _Cummings Delight_**

 ** _Bridge_**

"They've responded, ma'am – their radar has shifted to frequency-agile mode; jamming is having no effect."

" _Fusion_ seem to have access to some highly specialised equipment," Susan Cummings commented to nobody in particular. "Well, I think..."

Cummings was interrupted as one of her crew yelled out a warning.

"Missile inbound!"

* * *

 ** _Bridge Deck  
Command Centre_**

"Tango One is manoeuvring . . . speed increasing to twenty-eight knots . . . course change to one-eight-zero... She detected the launch."

The Spike missile cut through the air at over 300 knots and with the distance that separated the two vessels, the flight time was a little over twenty seconds. A fiery explosion ripped out in the darkness as 3.6kg of HEAT explosive detonated, a little over two nautical miles distant. There was a cheer from all those on deck and within the Bridge.

"Hit – Tango One!"

"Tango One is still moving – speed decreasing but she is still under command."

"She is a big bitch, Mindy – maybe another round..." Commander Perrin offered.

"Helm, alter course ten degrees to port – unmask the aft Spike launcher..." Ryan ordered.

* * *

 ** _Cummings Delight_**

 ** _Bridge_**

The yacht was shaking from the impact.

"Fire back at them, you bastards!"

The missile had struck low on the hull and there was a fire raging below. Those _Fusion_ people had wrecked my yacht and they would pay for that; they would pay dearly – I would see to that...

* * *

 **The Sky Deck, Aft**

 _Ocean Vigilante_ responded instantly and Joshua proceeded to target the other vessel as his sights were unmasked by our own superstructure.

The target manoeuvred hard and as such, targeting was difficult but very soon a solid lock was made on the target... Joshua hit the 'FIRE' button and with a puff of smoke and a loud bang, the missile was on its way, just as before and it trailed the thin guidance wire behind it. Joshua kept his eye to the sight to ensure that the weapon would hit his intended target.

"Almost there . . . looking good . . . what the bloody hell?"

 _Ocean Vigilante_ suddenly lurched into a violent turn and the control wire broke...

* * *

 **The Bridge**

"Missile launch!"

All heads turned to the port bridge wing and Mathilda who had a large pair of Zeiss 7x50 marine binoculars glued to her eyes. Commander Perrin gave some urgent rudder and engine orders to Cameron at the wheel but they were not enough, neither was there enough time; the ranges were far too short. I dived for the tannoy...

"Take Cover! Brace! Brace! Brace!"

* * *

 ** _Cummings Delight_**

 ** _Bridge_**

"Finally!"

"Both rounds have struck the target, ma'am."

"Well keep firing..."

* * *

 ** _Ocean Vigilante_**

 ** _The Bridge_**

 _Ocean Vigilante_ shook as first one, then two projectiles struck the port side, slightly aft of amidships, and at least one of the projectiles exploded on contact . . . the night sky was lit up by a ball of fire which blossomed out of the starboard side. The General Alarm sounded automatically and entire sections of the Damage Control Board turned red and orange – red indicated fire and orange indicated flooding – disconcertingly, certain sections showed both colours.

..._...

"Fire, fire, fire – fire in the Tender Garage!"

It was Dave's voice and it had originated from the tannoy; he and Joshua would be aft, putting on their firefighting equipment. The computer schematic of _Ocean Vigilante_ showed the entire Tender Garage in red, along with the port side corridor that ran past the Tender Garage from aft and towards the Engine Room.

"Port generator has dropped offline!" Abby called from the Command Centre. "Power transfer relays have failed; starboard generator not picking up the load."

"What does that mean?" I demanded and I dreaded the explanation.

"We've lost 240-volt and 24-volt circuits for everything above the Main Deck and aft of amidships on the Lower Deck. All weapons systems are down... We've also lost the main radar, ESM, and ECM."

"Crap!"

Great, just fucking great! There we were, less than four-thousand yards from an enemy vessel and we had lost our ability to fight, see, and detect . . . the only positive thing about it all was that the enemy were in roughly the same position – we had just seen all electrical power go out on _their_ vessel and smoke was pouring from the wound that the first Spike missile had created in their hull.

The second, unguided, Spike had struck higher up on the superstructure and it had caused a fire but I doubted it had caused much else in the way of major damage.

* * *

 ** _Lower Deck, Aft_**

I had seen the rocket exhaust, just as the projectile struck us and the yacht shook.

As I picked myself up off the deck I was sure that I had seen another projectile erupt from the starboard side and vanish into the darkness. I ran aft and almost collided with Joshua coming down from the Sky Deck. We barrelled past the Main Deck and once on the Lower Deck, we saw smoke billowing from the passageway that led to the Engine Room.

I grabbed a phone: "Fire, fire, fire – fire in the Tender Garage!"

Joshua yanked up the cushions on the settee and threw out the fire-fighting equipment before he ripped off his anti-flash hood and gloves. We had trained on the fire-fighting equipment twice so far and we hoped that we would never need to use any of it. We each pulled on a PBI Gold suit – a fireproof suit very similar to that which most firefighters wore – jacket, trousers and boots. Next came the BASCCA – Breathing Apparatus, Self-Contained, Compressed Air – a single tank with a face mask attached.

Finally, we both pulled on a yellow helmet.

* * *

I was shitting myself as I geared up.

Once we were both ready, we grabbed a hose each and I setup a water-wall which protected us from the heat as we advanced. The onboard sprinkler system in the Tender Garage was holding the fire at bay but not extinguishing it. As I moved closer to the fire, Dave came behind armed with his own hose which began to erupt Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) in copious amounts that covered the remnants of the tender _Warrior_ , the surrounding deck and equipment.

It did not take long before the flames began to subside as the fire was starved of the oxygen that it craved more than a heroin junkie craved their heroin. We were very thankful that there had been nobody based in the Tender Garage and hence no bodies to search for...

We were just breathing a joint sigh of relief and I had shut off the water-wall and Dave the AFFF foam when we heard an alarm rattler which indicated a fire in the Engine Room.

* * *

 ** _The Bridge_**

At least it couldn't get much worse...

"Starboard generator offline, main engines offline... Fire in the Engine Room!"

What went through my mind at that moment would have necessitated a very large wad of cash being stuffed into the proverbial swear jar! I looked up at the inclinometer that was mounted on the forward bulkhead and I noticed that we were listing to port by about three degrees and the list was increasing; we had obviously taken on plenty of water.

The automated bilge pumps were hard at work as they expelled the water over the side, but for now, there was far too much water aboard; both from the battle damage and from the copious amounts that were being used to put out the fire below decks.

The wait seemed interminable

* * *

 ** _The Lower Deck, Aft_**

The alarm rattler grated as we turned towards the Engine Room hatch.

Then worse – an alternating monotone alarm sounded in time with a flashing light above the hatch. There was an ominous sign on the Engine Room hatch:

 ** _WHEN ALARM SOUNDS  
VACATE AT ONCE  
FIRE SUPPRESSANT  
BEING RELEASED_**

The flashing light and alternating monotone alarm warned that the Engine Room was about to be flooded with HFC-125. HFC-125 has a technical name, pentafluoroethane, and suppresses the fire by absorbing heat energy – thus removing one of the three requirements for combustion; in this case heat, leaving just fuel and air. The alarm is required as the gas produces other gases during the processes that can be harmful if breathed in.

The alternating monotone alarm changed to a continuous tone as the gas was released under pressure into the Engine Room.

* * *

 ** _The Bridge_**

The wait seemed interminable but within four minutes the call came from the Lower Deck.

"Fire is out – fire watch is set!"

"Engine Room fire is out – HFC-125 discharge secured," Abby announced.

"This sucks!" I groaned to nobody in particular.

"Welcome to the world of naval warfare, Hit Girl!" Commander Bennett commented dryly.

* * *

 ** _Lower Deck, Forward_**

I would freely admit to having almost pissed myself...

I had been rudely awakened by the General Alarm and once I had been able to get my brain into gear, I had grabbed my lifejacket, pulled it on and strapped it around my waist – I could do it easily after all the training. Beside me in the cabin, my brother was doing the same. As was required, we had both slept with our combat suits on – it was uncomfortable but tiredness had helped us to sleep.

Was I scared? Definitely – and from the look on my brother's face as he pulled on his anti-flash gear, so was he. I had seen danger but he had not and all the noise scared him. I was not exactly used to it – not by any stretch of the imagination but I had had way more exposure to it all, so naturally, I saw myself as being a veteran (don't tell Steph; she'd just laugh). I was about to reach for the door when it burst open and our big sister stuck her anti-flash hooded head into our cabin.

"Move it, squirts!"

…_...

Danny and I ran out of our cabin and I shut the door behind us. I saw that Megan was behind Stephanie and my Aunt grinned at me as she pulled on her anti-flash hood. Eric burst out of his cabin and pushed past us, heading aft. Danny and I were pushed into the Galley and around behind the cupboards just as the yacht lurched to port and it turned tightly before the deck levelled out again.

Minutes later, we heard the tearing sound of the Gatling guns as they opened fire and then came the thunder of an explosion from somewhere beyond the hull.

"Check fire! Check fire! Target destroyed!" Came the announcement over the tannoy and the four of us cheered.

A short while later, we heard a bang and then a bit later, another cheer.

..._...

We were chatting wildly when _Ocean Vigilante_ began to manoeuvre hard and we all fell to one side where we sat on the floor in the Galley – it was our Action Station. I grabbed hold of Megan, while Danny seized hold of Stephanie. We knew very little about what was actually going on above but we had been able to feel the yacht as it manoeuvred roughly and then there had been a large explosion from further aft and the whole yacht had been shaken violently enough for us all to be thrown apart.

I had screamed as the lights had flickered for a moment and plunged us into darkness but then they had come back on again. An alarm blared out and I heard Dave announce the fire further aft but on our deck. I was relieved that there were two cabins and the Engine Room between us and the fire.

"We're safe here, Anne-Marie; Mindy said so."

Stephanie was right but I hated being in a place where I might be trapped. Fire scared me more than just about anything else and on a boat there was nowhere to run to. It was a few very tense minutes before we all heard Dave's reassuring voice again.

"Fire is out – fire watch is set!"

Then a minute or so later, I heard feet thundering on the stairs and Dave appeared in the Galley.

"Is everybody okay?" he demanded.

"Yeah," Megan replied for us all. "We're fine, Dave."

* * *

 ** _Eighteen minutes later_**

 ** _Bridge Deck  
Control Centre_**

"What we got, sailor!"

Abby looked up at Ryan Bennett and grinned.

"I'm a bit young for enlisting, Commander . . . the fire has caused some damage to the electrical systems but I have been able to bypass certain damaged systems and bring main power back online for the primary systems. Lighting is still on battery, the SCANTER 4100 radar is coming up now – we should have full detection capability in about ninety seconds. Scorpion ESM will come up once the SCANTER is online.

"The port generator is operating at full capacity but according to Eric, the starboard one has shrapnel damage. It's shutdown for now but we can use it if we have to; but it will probably fail completely within minutes. Power has been restored to the forward mini-guns and the forward Spike launcher. The after cabling is a bit of a mess, so we only have the port-quarter mini-gun online.

"Main engines are available – they both tripped due to the shock and the fire; you can crank 'em both when you're ready, Cap'n... I would recommend under ten knots, considering that we have a large hole in our starboard side and a smaller one in our port side. All pumps are operating at reduced speed, but they _are_ keeping up with the ingress of water."

"A very concise report, sailor..." Ryan grinned as Abigail smiled.

"We having fun yet?" Dave asked as he appeared in the Bridge, still in his fire-fighting rig.

"Smoky..." I commented.

* * *

 ** _Cummings Delight_**

 ** _Bridge_**

The second missile had caused minimal but critical damage.

"We must withdraw, ma'am..."

"Like hell, we will!" Susan Cummings responded.

"We have no choice, ma'am, – the power grid is badly damaged and it has affected the radar and other systems."

"So you say we should let them go?" Cummings demanded incredulously.

"They are badly damaged, Susan," Vossen interjected as he appeared on the Bridge. "We can make port – say Gibraltar – and make repairs. He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day."

Susan Cummings stormed off the bridge.

* * *

 ** _The Bridge_**

Within minutes, the muted roar of the vessel's twin MTU 12V 4000 series M93L 51.7-litre marine diesels, as they came to life, filled the air and five minutes later, they were providing their full 3,460bhp at 2,100rpm each.

 _Ocean Vigilante_ began to move through the waves; we angled away from the other vessel which was still in partial darkness but she had moved away from us while we had struggled to restore power and she was still moving away. She was also well out of Spike range.

Just when I had thought we were in the clear, we met our next challenge.


	22. Reinforcements and The Rock

**_Thursday, May 5th 2016  
03:25_**

 ** _Ocean Vigilante_**

"Contact!" Abby shouted from the Command Centre.

"Where away?" Commander Perrin demanded instantly.

"Bearing green one seven – range six thousand yards and closing at twenty knots... I'm getting IFF – she's a friendly; HMS Sutherland..."

Commander Perrin quickly dug into a locker and he came out with a large white bundle. He threw it to Dave: "Get that up on the mast, quick!"

Dave ran out onto the deck and then headed up a ladder onto the Sun Deck. Commander Perrin pulled out a small bag from the same locker. Out of the bag came a Royal Navy Officer's peaked cap, complete with gold braid along the edge of the peak.

"Plan B, Mindy..." Commander Perrin grinned as the radio jumped to life.

"Vessel on our port bow, this is British warship _Sutherland_ , British warship _Sutherland_. Identify your vessel and state passengers and cargo. Over."

Commander Perrin picked up the radio handset and began to speak.

" _Sutherland_ , _Sutherland_ , this is _Oscar Victor_ – authenticate four-two-delta. Over."

There was a slight pause before a response came back.

" _Oscar Victor_ , _Sutherland_ – go to discrete channel alfa-whiskey-seven. Over."

"Copy, _Sutherland_ – changing to alfa-whiskey-seven."

Commander Perrin winked as he switched to another radio and changed the channel. "We have them!"

"Sutherland, this is _Oscar Victor_ on alfa-whiskey-seven. Over."

" _Oscar Victor_ , this is Commander Jacobs, please state the nature of your situation. Over."

"Commander Jacobs, this is Commander Perrin, we have taken one, maybe two, missile strikes to our port side and we are in need of urgent docking facilities. Please communicate with Northwood and request a docking at the nearest facility for Quebec Four Seven. Over."

There was a short pause.

"Do you require any damage control assistance? Over."

"Negative; the fires are out and the pumps are clearing the flooding and standing water. Zero casualties on our side. Over."

"Standby, _Oscar Victor_. Over."

There was a longer pause of several minutes during which time the 4,900-ton Royal Navy Type 23 frigate had formed up on our starboard beam eighty yards distant and she adjusted her speed to match our own ten knots. I took a moment to step foot out onto the starboard bridge wing and as I looked up, I noticed that we were now flying the same ensign as that flown by the nearby British warship.

Commander Perrin had given myself and Dave a briefing on his 'Plan B', soon after we had come aboard. Apparently, 'Oscar Victor' had been listed as a 'Q-ship' – basically, a vessel that looked civilian but was, in fact, hiding weapons within its civilian façade. Q-ships had not been used since World War II, however, some countries were seriously considering using them in the fight against pirates.

For that moment, we were with a friendly warship and, I hoped, on the way for some much-needed repairs.

" _Oscar Victor_ , we are sending over a boat with instructions for you. _Sutherland_ out."

* * *

Within ten minutes, a RIB was being lowered down _Sutherland's_ side.

The Pacific 24 Mk4 RIB flew across the short gap between us and came alongside at the stern. Commander Perrin met the RIB and a single figure jumped off. The man had three gold stripes on his shoulders – he must have been the _Sutherland's_ commanding officer. I stood with Dave at the rear of the Sun Deck beside the port side mini-gun. We both wore our anti-flash hoods, as were every other member of the crew that were visible on the upper deck – the youngest remained below decks, out of sight.

"Commander Jacobs, I presume."

"Correct, Commander. You are in command here?"

"I am."

Commander Jacobs passed across a sealed envelope.

"From Northwood – Eyes Only."

"Thank you, Commander..."

"You sure you don't need any help?" Commander Jacobs enquired as he studied the smoke-blackened bulkhead around the hatch that led toward the Tender Garage and Engine Room.

"Looks worse than it really was but thanks for the offer," Commander Perrin replied.

"I'll be shoving off then – well have been ordered to provide escort to Gib. We would expect the transit to take about eighteen hours at present speed and the powers that be would like you to arrive after dark..."

"That would be _most_ appreciative, Commander."

* * *

 ** _That night_**

 ** _The Rock of Gibraltar_**

We needed backup and that backup was, at that moment, winging its way across the North Atlantic even as we made our way towards the fortress that guarded the gates of the Mediterranean, often known simply as The Rock of Gibraltar.

The 426-metre high monolithic limestone promontory is located in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, on the Iberian Peninsula. Gibraltar has a land area of only 2.6 square miles and shares its northern border with the Province of Cadiz in Andalusia, Spain. At the foot of The Rock, live over 30,000 people.

An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 and the peninsular was later ceded to Britain in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht. Gibraltar, and that treaty, were a constant thorn in the side of Anglo-Spanish relations, which were steadily getting worse with regard to Gibraltar and her residents.

* * *

 ** _Friday, May 6th 2016  
Mid-morning_**

To get to the Main Terminal at the airport, you took Winston Churchill Avenue and you actually drove _across_ the main, and only, runway that served the airport!

I understood that the landings and take-offs could be quite harrowing for those flying to and from Gibraltar, as aircraft travelling to and from the isolated peninsula were not allowed to use Spanish airspace. This, therefore, forced aircraft to bank sharply when landing from or taking off towards the west.

..._...

I parked the rented station wagon in the airport car park and I headed inside the air-conditioned building and I waited near the arrivals. The wait was not a long one as I soon saw some familiar faces appear from the gate with their bags. I felt my face breaking into a broad grin as I saw four smiling people advance towards me.

"Mindy!" Curtis called out excitedly and he hugged me tightly.

"Good to see you, little guy..."

"Hi, Mindy," Morgan said with a grin.

"You look good, Morgan..."

"How's the family?" I asked the third person.

"Doing really well, Mindy, Thanks," Kim replied as she gave me a hug.

The fourth person seemed uncharacteristically shy as she approached.

"Hi, Saoirse – welcome to Gibraltar."

"Thanks, Mindy!"

..._...

We walked back to the carpark in near silence as everybody lugged their bags to the car in the humid air. Everybody was glad when I had the AC going in the car and conversation resumed.

"SD has a boyfriend," Morgan commented as we drove away from the airport.

"Shut up, Morgan!" Saoirse growled. The embarrassed girl blushed bright red and then she glared at her sister.

I laughed which did _not_ exactly help the situation.

"She thinks he's cute and..."

"One more word, Morgan..." Saoirse hissed.

"She's considering whether to let him bone her..."

Curtis cringed while Kim and I burst out laughing. Morgan just giggled away while Saoirse looked like she might actually explode.

"Immature idiots!" Saoirse complained bitterly as her face continued to burn.

* * *

 ** _South Barrack Road_**

We were staying in a large house which overlooked the port and dockyard.

The moment that I had stopped the car, the front door had flown open and Megan had burst out. Curtis had walked maybe a foot before he was violently pinned against the car and Megan went into full 'I've missed you' mode...

The poor boy blushed madly as Megan kissed him repeatedly. He managed to return one in five but Megan was _on fire_! They both vanished minutes later – I decided not to enquire where, nor why...

Kim enjoyed greeting everybody and she spent some extra time with Hailee. Morgan and SD were welcomed by all, especially Saoirse by Stephanie. Saoirse seemed a little overwhelmed and she vanished off for a shower.

* * *

After the long flight, I had decided on a long shower to ease my aching muscles.

Executive jets were not all that they were cracked up to be! While I was busy washing, I heard the bathroom door open and then a little voice.

"Only me; I need to pee..."

It was only Anne-Marie, so I just ignored her while she went about her business. Then there was silence and as I turned around I found the same girl staring at me.

"Problem, Anne-Marie?"

"Err, sorry – how come you get to have a cutie mark and I don't?" The eight-year-old demanded as she seemed to ignore the fact that I was completely naked.

"Cutie . . . what?"

"A cutie mark – you know; what ponies have..."

"I know what a cutie mark is – just what does... Oh!" I stopped and I had an idea what Anne-Marie had seen. "It's a remainder from my time on the _Urban Predator_ side."

I turned around slightly so that Anne-Marie could see my right buttock where I had an elongated tattoo of a fox, about seven-inches long, with a bushy tail – a Foxtail... The young girl seemed disturbingly mesmerised by my butt!

"How come you get to have one?" The girl persisted.

"I wanted something to connect my codename to me: Saoirse to Foxtail. I liked it – it was painful to get but I liked it," I explained as I shut off the shower, stepped out and wrapped a towel around me. "You are _way_ too young for a real tattoo, Anne-Marie – trust me."

"Okay," The girl replied begrudgingly.

* * *

 ** _Later that afternoon_**

In hindsight, it was probably a _big_ mistake.

I had wandered into the kitchen and asked Dave if Megan was about. Dave had grinned fiendishly – should have caught that...

"Megan? She's in her room..."

It was only when I pushed open the door of the room that was being shared by Stephanie, Saoirse, Abby and Megan that I realised why Dave had been grinning – I wished people would lock their goddamn doors when they... The view I had of Megan was _not_ one which I would _ever_ have wanted to see – she was on her bed, completely naked, and she was kissing somebody with her legs open and her bare ass in the air and it was pointing at _me_ ; I also had a good view between the legs of whomever she was kissing.

I coughed and there was some furious activity as Megan dived under the duvet and I saw a very sheepish and embarrassed looking Curtis lying beside his furiously blushing girlfriend. I stuck my head out the door.

"Not funny, Dave!"

I heard laughter from the kitchen as the only response.

Once back in the bedroom, I glared at Megan.

"You need to lock your door if you're gonna be... you know..."

"Cunt here was supposed to lock the damn door!" Megan growled as she elbowed the grinning Curtis.

* * *

 ** _An hour later_**

We all sat down to supper, which was a somewhat crowded affair.

"You seem a little unsteady on your feet, Curtis..." Dave commented with a smirk and the eleven-year-old boy blushed.

Megan said nothing, but she licked her lips.

"You are a scruffy little hussy!" Chloe declared.

Megan glared at Chloe, who just grinned.

"Like _your_ legs are _ever_ closed – skank!" Megan retorted.

"Bitchy!" Chloe laughed. "I like..."

"I'm _not_ a dyke – unlike some..."

"Dyke, no. Bi, yes," Chloe replied casually before she paused. "You actually had anything up there yet?"

Megan blushed deeply before she responded.

"Curtis, no – and no other cock either – although we did try a banana one time..."

"I ate it afterwards – Megan tastes good!" Curtis added.

Chloe laughed and I had to admit that it was kinda funny, although a little creepy too! Stephanie's expression was priceless and Anne-Marie just looked confused, as did Danny.

"Up where?" Anne-Marie asked innocently.

Joshua, typically, decided to lower the tone of the conversation even further; if that were actually possible!

"Between your legs, you have a hole or two – it's the front one."

Cassie and Natasha burst out laughing while Chloe smacked Joshua hard across the face with the back of her hand. Stephanie looked horrified, as did Anne-Marie. I had a feeling that Eric and Cameron, not to mention Hailee and Abby were about to piss themselves as they could barely breathe through their laughter. I kind of lost track of things, myself, as I was laughing too hard to watch what was going on although I did catch sight of Morgan and Saoirse as they fell off their chairs.

Dave gripped onto me hard as he shook with his own laughter.

* * *

Needless to say, supper had been fun.

Time was spent bringing the newcomers up to speed with what had been happening and with what we had planned. Megan had taken the time to explain to Curtis what had happened to her and for the moment, Curtis was not allowing Megan out of his sight... He even sat on the floor outside the bathroom when she went to pee!

It was a good time for everybody to unwind and Dave and I got to spend some time with the twins. Anne-Marie and Danny had been side-lined a bit during the past couple of weeks and we had not spent as much time with them as we would have liked.

..._...

"Dad – has Mom ever hurt you?" Danny asked that evening.

"Yeah – she stabbed me in the thigh with a kitchen knife," Dave replied with a grin.

"I thought we agreed never to mention that again," I growled.

"Tell us, Dave..." Anne-Marie demanded excitedly.

"Yeah – I want to hear this," Chloe added as she walked past.

Once Chloe had sat down and Anne-Marie was perched on her knee, I reluctantly began to relate the story.

"Dave and I got ourselves trapped in a big store, over in New York. We were with Brooke – we had to make do with what was available. Dave actually took down two men with a pair of wrenches! I got a bit carried away when four gunmen appeared and I flung several kitchen knives in their direction – only one went astray..."

"Astray!" Dave wailed. "It embedded itself in my damn thigh!"

"You _missed_!" Anne-Marie was astounded. "You're Hit Girl – how could you _miss_?"

I rolled my eyes and glared at the eight-year-old.

"It had been a tough night..." I offered weakly.

Anne-Marie was like Megan – she assumed that Hit Girl was invincible and infallible; if only...

* * *

Joshua decided that it was time for another one of his dirty and politically incorrect jokes.

"What is the difference between heaven and hell?" He asked.

"Do we really want to know...?" Chloe grimaced as she closed her eyes.

"In heaven, the English are the policemen, the French are the chefs, the Germans the mechanics, the Italians are the lovers, and the Swiss organize everything. In hell, the Germans are the policemen, the English are the chefs, the French the mechanics, the Swiss are the lovers, and the Italians organize everything."

There was some minor chuckling and Joshua looked offended at the lack of response but then I realised that he was just warming up.

"A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: 'My friend is dead. What can I do?' The operator, in a calm soothing voice, says: 'Just take it easy; I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.' There is silence for a moment before a shot is heard. The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: 'Okay, now what?'"

That got everybody laughing and then Stephanie joined in.

"What has two legs, but can't walk?" She asked.

There were a few puzzled expressions and Stephanie hit us with her punchline.

"Half a dog..."

Joshua laughed and so did Dave and Cameron.

"That's sick..." Anne-Marie stated.

"That was cool..." Danny said with a big smile.

"Boys!" His sister growled.

"You better get used to it, girl – boys never grow up..." Hailee advised the younger girl.

* * *

 **Saturday, May 7th 2016**

 _Ocean Vigilante_ had been alongside at the Gibdock dockyard for an entire day.

The pumps were controlling the leakage and emergency repairs were well underway. Gibdock engineers were busy scouting out the all damage and applying emergency patches where necessary. Our list to port was now only four degrees, instead of the eight when we had first docked late on Thursday night. The engineers expected it to be at least another day, at the earliest, before we could put back to sea.

..._...

The eighteen-hour transit to Gibraltar in company with _HMS Sutherland_ had been uneventful and it had been a wait of everybody's mind to have help only a few hundred yards away. We had been an obvious curiosity to the crew of the British frigate. As dawn broke, we were still flying the White Ensign alongside our own defaced Blue Ensign. During the early morning darkness, we had stowed all our weapons in the magazines and we had done our best to make the _Ocean Vigilante_ look like a badly damaged civilian yacht.

The cover story was that we had suffered an explosion in the Tender Garage – a fuel spill.

..._...

For the majority of the crew, it had been a chance to rest after the very tense actions of the previous night. I had personal gone from person to person ensuring that everybody was uninjured – I checked Megan twice... All the kids slept for a good ten hours or so of the transit. The adults managed almost eight hours sleep in shifts.

I had been horrified when I had examined the damage below. Dave actually hugged me as I felt tears building – not only for the damage to my beautiful yacht, but also for the lives that could have been lost if things had gone differently.

..._...

We had been met a mile southwest of the South Mole that protected Gibraltar Harbour, by a pair of tugs; one for us and one for the _Sutherland_. The tug had deposited six Gibdock engineers aboard who went to work examining the damage and arranging for us to go alongside at the dockyard. The _Sutherland_ moored just ahead of us at the dock and almost immediately, armed sailors appeared to provide a dockside guard for _Ocean Vigilante_. _Sutherland_ had dropped her pair of Pacific 24 seaboats into the water which I gathered would remain to seaward of us as a further guard.

All that remained was to move everybody ashore to our temporary lodgings and hand _Ocean Vigilante_ over to the dockyard. Spook and the two Commanders would remain aboard.

..._...

As for 'the enemy', _Cummings Delight_ was moored, not five miles away to the west, in Algeciras – she appeared to be heavily damaged and did not expect that she would ever sail again. She had been impounded by the Spanish Navy the moment that she had made port an hour or two before us, however, discrete checks made by Spook had ascertained that our targets had not been aboard at the time when the vessel had been boarded by the Spaniards. That meant that Vossen and his team had very probably come ashore onto the fortress that was the Rock of Gibraltar.

They had no chance of leaving The Rock via land, or by air for that matter, and the Royal Navy was keeping an eye on every boat that left Gib.

I decided that it was time to go searching...

* * *

 ** _That afternoon_**

It was minutes after noon when the Wayne Enterprises CN-235 transport aircraft taxied to a halt alongside the Wayne Enterprises hanger at the airport.

Forty minutes later, there was the roar of engines, just not the expected roar of the CN-235s twin General Electric CT7-9C3 turboprops. Instead, it was the roar of sixteen-hundred-horsepower of two-wheel thrust. Twelve motorcycles roared out of the warehouse before they turned towards the road south and out of the airport. I had outdone myself but I had impressed everybody!

Twenty-one people were now astride those twelve motorcycles.

..._...

Gibraltar was tight on space, to put it mildly, so motorcycles were a much better option than cars.

I had purchased three very different models.

I was astride a 2016 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro, with Anne-Marie holding on tight behind me. There were three other Ducati Multistradas: Chloe and Danny rode one, Hailee and Mathilda another, with Jason and Nicky on the fourth.

Dave, with Stephanie behind him, were riding a BMW R 1200 GS Adventure motorcycle, as were Saoirse with Abby, Kim with Curtis, and Morgan on her own.

The third model was being predominantly ridden by the Brits. The first of the four Triumph Tiger Explorer XCX machines was being ridden by Natasha, another machine by her twin brother, Cameron, while Cassandra and Eric rode the third. The fourth and final Triumph was ridden by Joshua, who had Megan seated behind him.

..._...

At the Victoria Stadium roundabout, we split up.

Team 1, which consisted of Dave & Stephanie, Kim & Curtis, Cassandra & Eric, and Cameron, turned east along Devil's Tower Road and towards the east coast.

Teams 2 and 3 continued in a southerly direction, towards the harbour.

At Main Street, Team 2 continued south past the Parliament, while Team 3, which consisted of Natasha, Hailee & Mathilda, Morgan, and Jason & Nicky, turned east and started to climb the north end of the rock, where they headed for Signal Hill.

The other members of Team 2, led by me, headed further south. As we passed the dockyard on Rosia Road, Anne-Marie spoke.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

She was referring to _Ocean Vigilante_.

"Yes, she'll be fine."

"She saved our lives, didn't she...?"

"Yes, she did – I am very proud of her."

..._...

It was awesome being back on two wheels again; I had not been on two wheels since London – God, that felt like months ago, even if it had only been two weeks.

The roads were perfect for the high manoeuvrability of two wheels. The noise of the engines as they roared when we passed through a short, and very narrow, tunnel was awesome. We emerged back into the sunlight before we dived back into yet another short tunnel.

We took a moment to pause at Camp Bay and we enjoyed the sun while we all ate an ice-cream. To be honest, it really wasn't warm enough for ice-cream but nobody seemed to care. Anne-Marie and Danny enjoyed the time as they laughed and licked their ice-creams while Megan and Joshua teased the fuck out of each other which resulted in Megan having ice-cream splattered all over her face.

Saoirse, Chloe, and Abby were happily chatting about boys – Saoirse wanted to know how far Abby had gone with Eric...

..._...

Once we had rested, we climbed back onto our motorcycles and continued south, where we followed the coast road.

Very soon, we dived into a much longer tunnel, that was lined with concrete near the entrance, but the rest was just roughhewn rock. There wasn't much in the way of lighting in the tunnel but the roar of our combined engines – I could not stop grinning... Finally, daylight appeared ahead and we shot out into the sunlight – I hated dark enclosed spaces, given the choice.

We came out of the tunnel to find ourselves at the very tip of the peninsular. To be brutally honest, the next stop beyond the radar station was North Africa, but you would have to swim across eight miles of busy shipping lane to get there – Chloe declined the opportunity. We proceeded north up the east coast and stopped as we met up with Team 1.

Stephanie was really enjoying herself and she was grinning madly. Curtis and Megan exchanged a few words – and much to Chloe's disgust, a long and drawn out kiss. After a very short pause, we headed north again – Team 1 would continue around and head north by climbing the rock and would ride past the military barracks and then the Royal Navy hospital.

..._...

For us, the ride north was beyond stunning and I'm sorry, I kept stopping to take photos!

As we passed around the outstanding beauty and extreme ruggedness of the north bluff of The Rock, we just had to stop and gaze up at it. You could see openings painstakingly chiselled into the rock from the bad old days. The capture and holding of Gibraltar for nine-months in 1704 was what gave the Royal Marines Commando a considerable amount of their prestige in the world.

I had to admit that I liked Gibraltar; maybe I should get a house there . . . for holidays…

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

 ** _South Barrack Road_**

We all sat down to go through what we had found.

Apparently, not very much. Alright, it had been a longshot in the first place but it had been fun! Then it came. Spook strolled in and he looked cool aloof. He dropped a folder onto the table in front of me.

"He's been hiding, along with that damn woman. They all jumped ship and came ashore at Ailsa Craig on the east coast. They've been holed up in an old tunnel that crosses the rock and has not been used for decades."

"And?" I prompted as Spook smiled.

"GCHQ has come up trumps, Mindy," Spook replied. "Miss Cummings has been communicating with a Spanish helicopter rental company – they've booked a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter for tonight..."

"So he's making a run for the border?" Dave enquired.

"Seems like it," Spook responded.


	23. The Rock of Gibraltar

**Saturday, May 7th 2016  
That Night**

 ** _Spur Battery Road  
Gibraltar_**

 ** _Hit Girl_**

It was dark as we made our way up the road and thanks to the time of day, the tourist attractions had closed so we had the place to ourselves.

I had to admit that the view was stunning as I looked in a westerly direction towards Algeciras and the Spanish mainland. Spook was holed up with Abby in our rapidly sourced and surprisingly well-equipped Command Van – where and how Spook acquired it, I did not ask... Those two were to be our eyes and ears for any surprises while Eric was at the house. Spook and Abby had parked the van up at St Michael's Cave, a short distance from the top of the road with Petra as their last line of defence.

Hailee had argued to get back into the action. I was not convinced that she was ready but I knew how helpless she felt being kept out of the action. She had fought well on _Ocean Vigilante_ , so I hasd agreed for her to be our backup and for her to guard the Command Van.

..._...

The enemy stepped out into the road ahead of us as we advanced on foot, two abreast, and in line. As the bullets hit the tarmac at our feet, we dived for cover. Now, we were hundreds of feet up the side of a giant chunk of granite, so 'cover' was a very relative term! To our left, was the aforementioned sheer wall of granite that provided a _small_ amount of cover thanks to its undulating manner. To the right, there were trees, bushes . . . and the quick way back down the rock...

We were less than a hundred yards from the top of the road – our only option was to make it to the top or die in the hail of bullets; the alternative did not bear thinking about. We laid down covering fire which allowed pairs to move forward from cover to cover. Both sides were using suppressed weapons; it would keep the authorities from getting too curious – at least for a while. If we were to prevent Vossen from escaping, we had to corner him.

" _Fusion_ , Hal – helicopter closing on your location from the northwest!"

It had been fairly obvious that he was up there to escape by helicopter, as we had discovered – he would be only minutes from safety in southern Spain, not to mention out of our reach. HMS Sutherland was providing assistance with her powerful 3D search radar – I just wished that she could blow the damn helicopter out of the sky but I figured a British warship shooting down a Spanish helicopter might cause a slight international incident.

..._...

The darkness and the dark colours of our combat suits helped to shroud us. Many of the bullets were going wide but it would only take a lucky strike and our force was small... Kick-Ass and Jackal went first, followed by Nemesis and Crimson. I moved up, with Raven to my left – I felt exposed, so close to the lethal drop on my right. I sent several three-round bursts up the road, towards the remote muzzle flashes that indicated the enemy's position. Ahead of me, Trojan and Wildcat moved up, followed by Psyche and Foxtail.

Then it was our turn as we were covered by Drift and Shadow. I felt two bullets strike my chest armour, which caused me pain but did not hinder my advance in any way. The advance up the road was agonizingly slow but we had no choice but to push on and not turn it into the Charge of the Light Brigade. Bullets hit the concrete that edged the road and ricocheted off where they posed yet another risk for us to face.

As we got closer, the gunfire became more accurate and much closer but then so did ours and I managed to score some hits. I saw Foxtail go down but she soon jumped back up again and followed her partner. I hoped she was enjoying her baptism of fire!

* * *

 **Foxtail**

God dammit, those bullets hurt!

My armour had protected me but I was going to be bruised to fuck. It was my very first experience of a real battle. Up until that moment, I had generally fought small skirmishes at best and never more than five or six at a time. The gunfire was disconcerting and so was the tactical situation – it sucked to be brutally honest but it _was_ fun!

Beside me, Psyche was in her element and I knew that she had done this kind of thing before, so I followed her lead.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl_**

We had finally reached the top of the road and we were fighting in the circular casement where a large gun had once rested. On three sides of us was an eight-foot-tall chunk of solid concrete that was all there was between us and oblivion.

Somehow, we managed to have the twelve of us, plus about fourteen of them, all fighting hand-to-hand in that one small area! One man died as Kick-Ass threw him bodily against the concrete; the impact smashed his head to pulp. There was no sign of Vossen but he had to be around there somewhere. As I looked around me, I could see movement above us, up near a microwave station. There were six men and they were all guarding at least two others – there! Our eyes locked and I heard myself growling like a Rottweiler as she identified her prey.

..._...

I ran towards the concrete steps that led up to the transmitting station but I felt somebody grab me around the waist and throw me to the ground. I reacted immediately; I kicked out and heard a scream of pain as I followed through with a punch to the unfortunate man's jaw.

I was up again and I jumped up the four-foot wall at the back of the casement and there I received a punch to my upper left arm which sent me sprawling. I kicked out and put a boot through some bastard's teeth; he fell away screaming as blood erupted from his mouth. Then I felt myself seized around the arms and chest – the arms must have been from a gorilla; they were fucking huge and I struggled to breathe.

I was thrown bodily to one side by the 'ape'. I landed on a large square block of concrete that made up a rear corner of the casement and was the roof for the shelter beneath. As I landed, I rolled towards the edge of the concrete and I screamed as I rolled off into oblivion...

* * *

 ** _Petra_**

I had battled to go on the mission but even then, I was on the sidelines.

To be honest, I doubted if I'd even get to fire off a single round that night... I felt left out – I know I was in action in Germany but that had been a complete accident. I was still in a lot of pain, especially around my ribs and thighs but I was determined to help out in any way that I could.

I was there to guard the Command Van and to protect Abby and Spook while they concentrated on their computer systems inside the van. From where we were, we could not even _see_ the fight, so I kept an eye open for anything that moved in the darkness.

I could also listen into the fight and that was fun.

* * *

 ** _Jackal_**

The life of Jackal was never dull!

I grabbed the head of the nearest thug, rammed my armoured knee into his face and then smashed the head onto one of the many pieces of rusty iron which stuck out of the casement wall – I had to admit I felt sorry for the poor schmuck that would have to clean up the bloodstains before the next tourists arrived – before I let the body drop to the concrete and stone floor.

As I turned, I heard a scream.

It had to be one of the girls – I looked around me; there was Wildcat – going wild with her claws as expected, I could see Crimson and Shadow ripping some poor bastard apart and . . . up on the edge of the casement – no fucking surprise – Psyche and Foxtail; Psyche's Sais dripped with blood as were the Butterfly swords of Foxtail. I was momentarily distracted from counting girls as Foxtail sent a head flying over the edge of the casement and down below into the houses beneath us – God knows what somebody down there would think as a severed head suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

I realised that there was one girl missing – where the fuck was Hit Girl?

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl_**

How the fuck did I get myself into these goddamn situations?

I kicked out with my feet and I gained purchase on something that felt solid. I thanked my lucky stars that one hand had caught a protruding piece of iron whose original purpose was long forgotten. I managed to get one hand over the edge above me but then I felt a boot on my gauntleted hand. It hurt but nowhere near as much as it would have done if I had not been wearing armour on my hands.

"Bye, bye, Hit Girl..." The 'ape' growled.

I felt my hand pushed inexorably towards the edge and I once again faced off against death. Then, out of the blue, the pressure on my hand eased and I heard a yell as the 'ape' went over the edge and fell four hundred odd feet straight down...

"What the fuck are you doing down there?" Psyche demanded incredulously.

"I saw something interesting!" I growled. "Now fucking help me up, or so help me God..."

"Ungrateful bitch!" Psyche growled as she and Jackal heaved me over the edge with the help of Foxtail.

"What happened to him?" I asked as I indicated the cliff edge behind me.

"He had no head for heights..." Psyche muttered.

"He got the boot..." Jackal added.

Psyche and Jackal fist-pounded before they turned and ran back to the fight.

"For God's sake!" Foxtail muttered as she ran to join Psyche. "Hey! Leave some for me to kill..."

I chuckled for a moment before I was brought back to reality as a bullet ricocheted off the concrete by my feet. I pulled my pistol and sent half a dozen rounds upwards, towards the microwave station above me.

* * *

 ** _Kick-Ass_**

The gun casement resembled an abattoir.

Blood was everywhere and the substance was very visible on the white-painted concrete. As far as I could tell the enemy numbers were dwindling but our own numbers were not. I found a submachine gun being thrust towards me, I grabbed the muzzle and wrenched it out of the man's hands before ramming the butt into the unfortunate man's face.

Blood exploded out to join the rest as the man screamed out in pain. His scream ended quite quickly as Crimson stabbed him through the heart. She and Shadow seemed to be having fun, I thought. I looked around for my wife and soon found her standing at the back of the casement.

I ran towards her, my pistol raised.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl_**

I ignored the gunfire and I ran towards the transmitting station.

My focus was Vossen but I registered somebody as they ran towards me; it was my husband, Kick-Ass. His pistol was out and I could see muzzle-flashes as he covered my advance. I took advantage of the men as they shot at Kick-Ass. I put a bullet in the knees of two men and both toppled over the edge of the cliff – their cries vanished in the night, drowned out by another noise.

Above the sound of battle and above the sound of men dying there was the unmistakeable sound of a helicopter as it closed on our position.

* * *

The helicopter approached without lights.

I was keen to be able to send some bullets towards it but firing by sound alone would not help as The Rock distorted the sound of the rotors. Vossen's men upped the amount of gunfire – they must have held men, ammunition, and automatic weapons back for just that moment.

I returned fire with my SIG MPX-K – only short bursts as my ammunition supply was dwindling fast.

..._...

The helicopter was close and the men guarding Vossen began to move down from the microwave station. I was forced to retreat with Kick-Ass providing covering fire. Then the unthinkable happened... Vossen had raised the stakes but I was game for anything.

"Grenade!"

Trojan's yell caused all heads to turn in his direction. I could see the explosive device as it flew through the air. I was safe, as was Kick-ass and most of the others. The explosive device was aimed at Wildcat who had _not_ seen the grenade, nor it appeared, had she heard Trojan's dire warning.

Trojan moved faster than I had ever seen the kid move before. He bolted directly at Wildcat and he shoved her out of the way without any hesitation. Wildcat was sent sprawling across the concrete where she rolled and then hit the concrete casement. I heard a scream of pain as she lay still – she was hurt. I turned back to Trojan...

I tried to see the grenade but I was too late; the grenade detonated with a bright flash and a thunderous explosion which echoed around the granite outcrop. Silhouetted by the flash and in a weird slow motion, I saw a small body as it was flung to one side like it was nothing.

" _NO!_ " I yelled out.

..._...

The grenade had proved to be the perfect distraction as the helicopter hovered and I saw Vossen and the other man clambering in along with their surviving escort. I raised my SIG MPX-K and emptied the remaining rounds from the magazine at Vossen. I caught several of his men but I had no idea if I had actually hit Vossen or not – one could always hope. However, the helicopter dived away and I was sure that I had seen smoke billow from an engine...

I ran towards the fallen Trojan who lay against a railing at the entrance to the gun casement. The rest of Vossen's men all pulled back from the firefight and ran off down the road – their job was complete. Jackal put down the last viable target and he joined me as I quickly fell to my knees beside the supine form of Trojan.

His combat suit was ripped and torn but there was not much blood – a good omen? I reached up to his mask, disabled the anti-lift and I pulled off my gauntlet to check for a pulse at his carotid artery – nothing. I tried again, still nothing . . . as the seconds passed I began to feel panic rising within me; what was I doing wrong? His pulse _had_ to be there... I pulled off his left gauntlet and checked for a pulse in his wrist.

"No pulse!" I yelled out.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl, Shadow, Wildcat and Trojan_**

I heard an engine race and I saw the Command Van skid to a halt just a few yards away.

Spook had heard my everything and he had raced up the hill – I noticed blood on the front of the van and a cracked windshield. The team rapidly sprang into action – we had a drill for exactly the type of event that we were experiencing at that moment.

..._...

I grabbed up Trojan and carried him over to the Command Van. Once we were inside and the doors were closed, I pulled off his mask and began to remove the top of his combat suit. Megan appeared as she pulled off her own mask; she had tears which spilled unimpeded down her cheeks.

"You okay?" I asked. "You hurt?"

"Fuck _my_ injuries..."

Chloe appeared with the portable defibrillator that we always carried but surprisingly, and thankfully, had never had to use to that point.

"Please, no!" She said, tears of her own fell down her face as she knelt down to begin CPR.

..._...

Chloe checked Curtis' airway and she breathed air into his lungs twice before she commenced thirty chest compressions. Megan had her finger to Curtis' carotid artery; she shook her head and I could see the panic on her face. I placed the chest electrode pads from the Automatic External Defibrillator, or AED for short, onto the boy's chest in the correct locations while Chloe continued to administer CPR. I turned on the AED.

The machine issued a verbal command: 'Stop CPR, do not touch patient, analysing.'

A few seconds later the prompt changed: 'Preparing shock. Move away from the patient.'

Once everybody was clear, I hit the 'SHOCK' button and another prompt was issued: 'Shocking in three – two – one...'

At 'one', a thousand volts pulsed between the two chest pads for exactly ten-milliseconds. The voltage was delivered along the length of Curtis' heart, from the right atrium to the left ventricle. The machine ordered CPR to be continued, which Chloe did without a moment's hesitation; she breathed twice to inflate Curtis' lungs followed by thirty compressions to his chest.

..._...

Megan and Chloe both sobbed and Megan held Curtis' hand tightly. Just as Chloe finished the next round of CPR, Megan suddenly stopped crying. I stared at her not wanting to tempt fate...

"I've got a pulse; I've got a pulse!" She shouted happily.

Chloe immediately stopped CPR and I could see Curtis' chest begin to rise and fall on its own, just as the AED advised: 'No shock required.' The boy coughed a few times before he opened his hazel eyes. Chloe and Megan both burst into another round of crying – that time, they were tears of joy. I felt my own tears as they spilled unbidden down my cheeks – tears of relief.

"Who was that wonderful kisser?" Curtis asked.

Chloe blushed and cried even harder with the relief. Megan hugged Chloe and both sobbed too hard to speak.

* * *

 ** _The Command Van  
Hit Girl, Shadow and Wildcat_**

With Trojan out of immediate danger, I turned to his girlfriend.

"Your turn, Megan..."

"I'm fine..." She began.

"We've been here before; don't lie to me," I warned.

Megan hated to show any form of weakness, but hesitantly she unzipped the top of her combat suit and pulled up her t-shirt. Her chest was purple on her right side – a direct result of her landing on the concrete. The girl screamed a couple of times as I prodded the area.

"No ribs broken – lucky."

"Is he...?" She asked.

"He'll be fine; he saved your life, you know..." Chloe commented.

"He loves me, what more can I say."

I laughed – only Megan could brush off a grenade attack!

* * *

 ** _The Command Van_**

While Megan talked to Curtis, I looked over at Spook.

"What's your story – I saw the cracked windshield?"

"Oh!" Spook replied offhandedly. "Some prat ordered us to stop with his mouth instead of with the gun in his hand. Unfortunately, with all the excitement, I stood on the accelerator instead of the brake – I'm only human; anybody can make a mistake..."

I laughed.

"It was awesome!" Abby exclaimed. "The man's head hit the windshield and it went _splat_!"

"You are really starting to worry me Abby," I commented dryly.

Abby just grinned.

"And you?"

I turned to Hailee who was grinning – I could tell that she had seen some action.

"Five died of acute lead poisoning and one kind of fell off the road..."

"Not bad, Petra!"

* * *

It was time to leave.

Between the grenade and the helicopter, the authorities would be mobilising. However, before I could do anything, I heard a voice in my headset.

" _Fusion_ , this is _Oscar Victor_ – _Dolphin Three-Seven-Two_ is approaching to extract – signal your exact position with smoke. Over."

"I copy, _Oscar Victor_. Popping smoke."

I had a shrewd idea what _Dolphin Three-Seven-Two_ was as I pulled out a thin canister and I pulled the pin. I threw the smoke grenade into the casement. Despite it being dark, I knew that while the smoke would be invisible, the heat generated by the grenade as it pumped out copious amounts of purple (what else!) smoke would be like a flare to the FLIR system on the Royal Navy Merlin HM2 helicopter.

I heard the rotor blades of the monster, three-engine, fourteen-tonne anti-submarine helicopter as it closed in on our position.

"We going flying?" Jackal asked eagerly.

"Courtesy of the Royal Navy, yes," I replied.

..._...

The large grey helicopter appeared out of the darkness and I could make out a crewman in the open door on the starboard side. A red glow was visible which illuminated the interior of the helicopter. The pilot did not land; he simply hovered with the starboard rear undercarriage a mere inch from the top of the large square concrete slab from which I had fallen a while earlier.

I counted everybody aboard and once Kick-Ass had shoved me aboard ahead of him, he clambered aboard. As we took off there was a flash from below and the Command Van burst into flames. The Merlin helicopter banked around The Rock and headed directly for the dockyard. Below us, I could see the many lights of Gibraltar at night. I could also see a certain yacht, all lit up from stem to stern.

We passed _Ocean Vigilante_ and _HMS Sutherland_ before we banked around hard and came in for a landing on the floodlit flight deck of the _Sutherland_. The touchdown was perfect and the engines rapidly spooled down. The door slid open and we were waved out onto the flight deck.

From there, we made our way ashore and then along the dock to the gangway of _Ocean Vigilante_.

* * *

 ** _Ocean Vigilante_**

As we made our way aboard, I noticed a very annoyed looking Commander Ryan Bennett.

"This had better not be bad news," I cautioned.

"She's gone..."

"Who?"

" _Cummings Delight_ , that's who!"

"How?" I demanded. "I thought..."

"Money talks, obviously... She put to sea about an hour ago, however, she is damaged and I understand that she should be operating at reduced power..."

"Fuck!" I almost screamed. "That would explain them pulling back so quickly once Vossen had vanished... When can...?"

"How does 'within the hour' grab you?"


	24. At Sea Again

**_Saturday, May 7th 2016_**

 ** _The Straits of Gibraltar_**

 ** _Ocean Vigilante  
14nm northeast of Tangiers  
Position: 35.9596° N 5.5965° W  
Course: 238°, Speed: 25 knots_**

It was almost midnight by the time we were underway and steaming on an easterly heading into the North Atlantic Ocean.

The repairs had been completed and apparently some senior members of _HMS Sutherland_ had turned to, to assist where they could. All of the weapons systems were fully operational and Abby was grinning fit to burst and it had taken Eric to explain that some unnamed RN CPO had upgraded some of the software as it was 'very similar' to what was used aboard the Type 23 frigate which had been moored astern of us.

Commander Perrin also advised me that the used fire-fighting equipment aboard had been serviced and recharged where necessary – by a pair of RN Petty Officers. Even the laundry had been done and we also had a full 'tank' of diesel. Extra food had appeared in the galley, which had included a ready-cooked meal for that evening as well as two very large bottles of Pusser's Rum. I understood that the RN had provided some other 'upgrades' which we would make use of later – I hoped.

Before we left Gibraltar, we had to wait for Eric, Cassie and the twins, plus our kit form the house, Curtis and Megan were checked over by the _Sutherland's_ Petty Officer Medical Assistant. He announced that they should both take a day to rest but otherwise they had come through their near miss very much alive.

I seriously hoped that that would be the closest that anybody would come to dying.

* * *

"So, Curtis, how does it feel to be blown up by a hand grenade and survive?"

"It hurt, Uncle Ryan," Curtis replied with a smirk.

"I would expect so."

Ryan had been shocked to find that Curtis had very nearly died but he had been very impressed by what Chloe had done. He was also proud that Curtis had put his life before another's – in that case, Megan. The two eleven-year-olds had been given their space and Hailee had reported a lot of tears when she had passed their cabin.

As for the enemy, they were up ahead somewhere and we would find them. Once we had found them, then we would destroy them...

* * *

 ** _Sunday, May 8th 2016_**

 ** _Ocean Vigilante  
56nm west of the southern tip of Portugal  
Position: 36.9058° N 10.6667° W  
Course: 000°, Speed: 25 knots_**

I received a pleasant surprise when I awoke.

Apart from a big kiss from my husband, which was always pleasant, I found a beaming Eric and Abby waiting in the Main Salon. I grabbed a bacon sandwich from Spook and sat down.

"Well?" I demanded.

"Toulouse," Abby said.

"Toulouse?" I queried.

"Toulouse," Eric confirmed. "It's a city in France's southern Midi-Pyrénées region...

"I know!" I growled.

" _That_ is where Vossen is headed," Abby explained. " _That_ is where _Urban Predator_ HQ is..."

"As far as we can tell from the data so gallantly obtained from _Cummings Delight_..." Eric went on.

I blushed at that.

"...Toulouse is the last place. You saw what they did in Milan... Well, they seem to have closed down everything else and centred around the HQ in Toulouse."

Finally, we had a destination and I hoped that it would be the _final_ destination.

* * *

As usual, training was the norm, as well as time spent preparing our equipment.

Curtis insisted on fighting and Megan joined in and finally, just for some peace and quiet, I gave in. Every member had a spare combat suit aboard, so Curtis was lucky – no combat suit, no combat.

"You're a push over, Hit Girl!" Megan grinned.

"Yeah – she's going soft in her old age..." Stephanie agreed.

Dave cringed and both girls realised too late... Two loud piercing screams echoed around the main deck as a pair of strong hands grabbed two ankles and yanked... The two girls landed flat on their faces, on the mat, to general laughter from the others present.

"Ouch..." Megan moaned.

"Me and my big mouth..." Stephanie grimaced.

"Little girls should know their place..." Anne-Marie laughed as she stood over her aunt and big sister.

"Yeah, they should!" Danny agreed as he kicked his sister's legs out from under her.

Anne-Marie landed on her ass with an annoyed scream.

* * *

I enjoyed the randomness of the attacks.

Anne-Marie had impressed me with her desire to defend her Mom. I was also impressed with Danny for putting his sister in her place, too. The rivalry between Wildcat, Psyche, Ravage and Rogue was healthy but they also loved each other, in fact both Wildcat and Psyche had gone so far as to show their love for Rogue by killing to rescue her.

I sat sunning myself on the Sky Deck while I watched Hailee teaching Danny some tricks with his Balisong. The boy was actually very good with the lethal blade and I hated to admit it, but he was almost as good as I was at that age... He loved that knife – his fingers betrayed that it had taken him a while to get used to the razor sharp implement – he never let it out of his sight and he had even slapped Megan for going so far as to touch it!

Anne-Marie was being taken through some movements with her beautiful Butterfly swords by their supplier, Saoirse. I had to admit that it was a little strange seeing an eight-year-old girl as she wielded the deadly weapons while a fourteen-year-old girl wielded her own twin Butterfly swords as the instructor.

Whatever Anne-Marie was, she was very intelligent and in her time with Saoirse, she had learnt when to shut up and listen. At that moment, she listened and ingested every direction and her eyes missed nothing as Saoirse moved her own swords and Anne-Marie duplicated each and every action.

I seriously hoped that it would be years before she would have to put any of those actions into practice.

* * *

 ** _That evening_**

On my way to bed, I peeked in on the kids as I did, each and every night.

I deemed it the least that I could do to protect my charges. The twins shared the first cabin to starboard, beyond the galley. I pushed open the door and as I did so, I heard giggling as the light rapidly went out. Apparently they were both asleep...

"Not buying it!" I growled.

There was a fake snore followed by a giggle that sounded suspiciously Anne-Marie like.

"Get to sleep – we have a big day ahead of us, tomorrow."

"Night, Mom – love you." Came the dual response.

..._...

I moved on to the next cabin, again to starboard. The cabin was occupied by Megan and Stephanie – the bitches from hell... They were both very much awake and in deep discussion.

"Hi, Mum!"

"Hi, Sis!"

"What are you two up to?"

"Megan's telling me about her time in Gotham..."

"Oh, yes..."

"I did some things that I was not proud of," Megan admitted.

"But, you also grew up fast and proved how mature you can be," I reminded the eleven-year-old and she went very quiet.

"I think you embarrassed the Kitty Kat," Stephanie laughed.

"Thanks, Mindy – I know I cause a lot of shit but it's good to know that I do get some things right," Megan finally said.

"You both cause shit, but I wouldn't replace either of you..."

"Thanks, Mum – night."

"Yeah, thanks, Mindy."

"…probably."

"Hey!"

* * *

 ** _Monday, May 9th 2016_**

 ** _Ocean Vigilante  
55nm west of Portugal  
Position: 40.9830° N 10.1899° W  
Course: 005°, Speed: 25 knots_**

It was a little after three in the morning when I walked out onto the port bridge wing.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

It was Spook.

"I want this to be over, and soon."

"It will be – you finally have a destination and we are well on our way there."

"I know, but so much could still go wrong. We almost lost Curtis – Hailee is still bruised to fuck. Even my sister and my best friend's fuck-buddy were put at risk..."

"Nobody said that being a vigilante was easy..."

I laughed at that.

"Don't you worry about me; Petra can look after herself and believe me, I've had bruises before," Hailee offered as she joined us.

"You were tortured..." I replied.

"Like somebody just said: 'nobody said that being a vigilante was easy'..."

"I still feel guilty and I always will..."

"It's what makes you such a great leader, Mindy," Spook said. "You feel guilt when those you lead are hurt and you do everything that you can to protect them. Look at the weapons and armour you provide – cost no object; that shows how much you care. You are one in a million."

"To be honest, I'm just glad that there _is_ only one of you..." Chloe quipped as she came up the port ladder.

I felt seriously outnumbered.

"Chloe – you've known crazy bitch for the longest; apart from Dave, of course," Hailee commented. "How have you survived so long, putting up with her moods?"

Chloe grinned nastily.

"She's my best friend, after Abby and Josh, and I love her like a sister," Chloe replied.

"I only make third place?" I growled.

"Josh is better in bed..." Chloe grinned. "Without Abby, I might never have survived long enough to meet you and Dave."

I gave both girls a hug.

* * *

It had to be today.

The enemy would be only a few hours sailing from the French coast and once they were ashore... The plan was to destroy them at sea and then would come the hope that without active leadership, _Urban Predator_ might fall with a limited fight. I liked a bloody fight, just as much as the next vigilante and probably more but we have all out everything into our fight across Europe and I did not want to put everybody at risk of death without good reason.

I could still see those dead kids... They would haunt my nightmares for many years to come. I had arrived too late to save them but I wold do everything that I could to save those believed to be in Toulouse. I would avenge my eldest daughter and help her come to terms with her new life. A life that I hoped would be free of _Urban Predator_ and everything that it stood for.

Saoirse too. Despite her happy demeanour, I knew that she was also hurting inside.

..._...

Though I had not broached the subject with the fourteen-year-old, I had found out about her early life. Marty was busy unencrypting files that we had . . . acquired . . . from the CIA.

The girl had been born in Belfast as Saoirse Kaitlin McBride during 2001. Her mother, Shauna McBride, along with Saoirse's father, Liam McBride, had been IRA sympathisers. They had been targeted by the British security services during The Troubles and were seen as a suitable target when kids were being recruited into _Urban Predator_.

As far as the British Government were concerned, Shauna and Liam McBride would not be missed. Therefore, a blind eye was turned to their abduction along with their then, eight-year-old daughter on April 30th, 2009. We had most of Saoirse's file and she had struggled, much as Stephanie had before she had properly settled into her new life and then excelled as Foxtail.

Yes, she had shot her parents in cold blood.

* * *

While we had discovered some of Stephanie's former life; her former name for instance, her time with _Urban Predator_ was a mystery for the most and before that was a blank in her mind. The young girl had enough on her plate without me dredging up all that shit for her.

I focussed my mind on the present as both former _Urban Predator_ killers entered the salon for breakfast. As usual, they were laughing and joking. The language between them was crude and the sexual innuendo extreme. Considering that only a few short months ago, Saoirse had been fanatical about destroying Stephanie, the fact that they were now inseparable as friends seemed strange but it was their strange and disturbing upbringing that was their bond.

"Morning, girls!" I called out.

Stephanie ran over and gave me a hug. Saoirse smiled and waved. Another day was beginning as Spook appeared with a tray piled high with bacon, eggs and sausages.

I just had to hope that it would end well.

* * *

 ** _Ocean Vigilante  
148nm west-northwest of Biarritz, France  
Position: 44.0089° N 4.9093° W  
Course: 102°, Speed: 25 knots_**

It was just after five in the afternoon.

All hands had closed up to Action Stations and on the foredeck, ahead of the Bridge, Dave was preparing to launch one of our pair of Spike-ER missiles. The target had been visible on radar for the past hour as we closed the range.

We had another hour to go before we crossed the 8,000-metre mark and we could fire the missile. We were about 80% certain of our target, but the advantage of the ER missile was that it had a brilliant camera embedded and we could be able to identify the target before the missile struck.

It was an expensive way to determine the target and we only had two rounds but if we could just slow them down...

* * *

 ** _Seventy minutes later_**

Dave bore-sighted the launcher dead ahead and pressed the 'FIRE' button.

The thirty-kilogramme missile left the launch-tube with a loud bang and a small cloud of smoke before it accelerated to three-hundred knots and headed north. Flight time was fifty-two seconds and the clock seemed to go _so_ fucking slow!

The range had dropped to a little over four nautical miles, but it was difficult to make out the small, grey-painted, missile in the bright sunlight. The TV screen in the Command Centre clearly showed the yacht as the missile closed.

"Positive target identification!" Abby intoned.

"Make them eat the fucking missile!" I growled over the comms to Dave.

Dave did just that and as I watched, entranced, I saw the same view that I had seen several nights previously – the stern of the mega-yacht was easily recognisable before the missile bore into the port quarter and the screen went blank.

* * *

 ** _Cummings Delight_**

I awoke to alarms and I could smell smoke.

The yacht was shaking as it turned hard in the water. I scrambled out of the bed and ran down the staircase to the Upper Deck.

"What the hell is going on?" I demanded.

"We're under attack, ma'am," a worried yachtsman replied.

I made my way the Bridge where I found a hectic scene before me.

"Captain, report!"

"A missile has struck us aft. The Boat Garage took most of the explosion and the engines are intact and undamaged. We have a minor fire aft which is being contained as we speak."

"Who...?"

"They are a little over three and a half nautical miles aft of us and are closing."

"Why was I not awoken?"

"The radar has been acting up and we never saw them approaching – we had thick mist aft of us, an hour ago."

* * *

 ** _Ocean Vigilante_**

It was obvious that while we had struck the yacht, we had not impaired her propulsion, which had kicked into full power soon after the missile had struck.

I had to give the bitch credit – she had built her yacht well!

It took another hour of rapid manoeuvring for the two thoroughbred yachts to close. The Commanders were using every trick in the book, and many that were not, to gain precious yards to bring our arsenal into range.

At 2,400-yards range, the forward Mk19 grenade-launchers began to spit out rounds with a muzzle velocity of 790 feet-per-second. Each belt held thirty-two rounds and they were being pumped out at forty rounds-per-minute.

..._...

The forty-millimetre grenades flew through the air and exploded, sending fragments flying into the yacht. Annoyingly, there must have been armour in the superstructure, which was not a surprise, just an annoyance.

The radio on the bridge came to life."

"That the best you got, Hit Girl?"

I grabbed the microphone and squeezed the transmit key.

"I have not yet begun to fight..." I growled and I received an approving grin from Ryan. "Are you going to surrender?"

"Only when you pry the final weapon from my dead hands..." Susan Cummings shot back.

"Looking forward to it – surrender is _not_ an option for you; to the death!"

"Then, I'll see you in hell..."

I slammed down the microphone and turned to Commander Perrin. There was no option but to use Spike missiles to sink the yacht before it reached its destination.

"Standby, fore and aft batteries, for a broadside to port!"

"Now you're talking _my_ language, Hit Girl!" Perrin chuckled.

We closed into an optimum position, about 1,400 yards from the shattered yacht.

"Engage!" I ordered.

* * *

The mega-yacht came apart under the onslaught of the port-side pair of mini-guns and the twin Spike launchers. We circled the yacht as we pounded her to pieces. The damage was almost total as the third and fourth Spike missile flew into the superstructure.

The magnificent vessel's mast toppled into the flames that billowed from the Owner's Cabin near the top of the superstructure. Alarms could be heard amidst the screams and yells as the yacht began to settle in the water – that was when I wondered if he was insured against 'Acts of Hit Girl'! The crew were attempting to launch the ship's boats and it looked like they might succeed in their actions.

"Weapons hold!" I ordered – there was to be no senseless slaughter; I was beyond that and our immediate task was complete.

..._...

Over the next fifteen minutes, we stood a mile off, and we watched through binoculars as two twelve-metre RIBs were launched from the amidships garage. A rainstorm began and the visibility closed down, but as we watched, the RIBs were loaded with just eight people each – sixteen out of over forty people who had been aboard. I shrugged; life at sea was dangerous . . . note to self: buy more Spike missiles – or maybe something bigger...

"Mindy!"

I turned to see a very worried Stephanie as she ran towards me . . . she seemed very agitated as she jumped up and down.

"Out there; I just saw them throw somebody off a RIB – it looked like a kid..."

Those fucking bastards – nothing was beneath them! Commander Perrin was at the tannoy before I could move a muscle.

"Away seaboat!"

"Mindy?" Stephanie wailed.

"Go, Steph – but be careful, please."

I watched the girl dash forward towards where Dave and Joshua were readying the _Cutlass_ on the bow. I took a moment to grab a radio and then to advise Dave that Stephanie was on her way to join them – and why.

* * *

 ** _Cutlass_**

The VI-BTD RIB sped away from the mothership and we headed for the burning wreckage.

Josh was driving, while Dave was in the stern and I kept a keen lookout from the bow. There was a steady sea running, not to mention the rain which caused limited visibility, plus the smoke and flames from the wreckage were not helping. We stopped for a moment to listen and that was when I heard it...

"Help me!" Came a very faint voice.

I waved my arm out to port. Josh gunned the engines and we flew forwards in a tight turn to port – I raised a set of binoculars to my eyes and I tried not to look at the flames which hurt my eyes. Dave shouted from amidships where he had been studying the FLIR display and Josh spun the wheel again. As we came around, I thought I saw something and indicated the direction with my arm raised.

I was right; it was the boy and he struggled to stay afloat in the waves without any lifejacket or other buoyancy device – those bastards.

..._...

Josh brought us to a stop just a few feet from the boy.

"Ahoy, there – you need a hand?" I shouted.

The idiot raised a hand from under the water and he pointed a pistol at me. Dave raised a G36 and pointed it back at the scared boy.

"Easy!" I cautioned, with a look at Dave.

I turned back to the boy.

"Are you stupid? We're here to help you after your 'friends' threw you to the sharks..."

"I'm no fucking traitor..."

"Fuck that shit – you are on your own and only _your_ decisions matter now and I'm sorry to say that what you decide will see you sink or swim, quite literally."

"I..."

The boy came to a very rapid decision and he dropped the pistol into the water before he swam towards the RIB. He reached up with one hand and Joshua reached down, grabbed hold of the boy and he dragged him bodily into the boat. He was promptly pinned down by Dave and Josh while I searched him from head to toe. Apart from a small knife and an empty pistol holster, he had nothing on him – both went in the water.

"He's clean..."

Dave and Josh released the boy and they allowed him to sit up.

"Joshua – get us back aboard!" I ordered; the boy shivered with cold.

"Yes, ma'am!" Josh replied with a grin.

"So, what do we call you?"

"My name's Aiden, Aiden Maxwell."

"Good to meet you, Aiden – I'm Stephanie, as you have probably guessed, and this is Dave – the Brit over there is my good friend, Joshua."

"Hi..."

I wrapped Aiden in a blanket and sat next to him as we headed back to _Ocean Vigilante_ at speed.

..._...

As we neared our destination, I noticed increased amounts of apprehension on Aiden's face. That was understandable as we came closer to the mega-yacht and one of the first things that Aiden saw appear out of the driving rain was the starboard-quarter M134 plus several armed individuals all staring down at him. As we came alongside Ocean Vigilante, I actually reached over and held his hand to reassure him.

I helped him out of the RIB at the stern and he was quickly grabbed by Cassie and Natasha who took him up a deck to the Main Salon. Aiden was in the early stages of hypothermia, so he was stripped of his wet clothes and wrapped in warm blankets. Hailee appeared with a mug of steaming hot chocolate – with marshmallows of course!

"Stephanie!"

Okay, I was staring as he was stripped . . . he had muscles . . . but not much else... I knew what was going through Aiden's mind; I had been there and I knew that he would be scared; I had been – not that I had ever admitted it. I noticed that everybody was overtly armed – I was too. I sat down beside Aiden on a couch and indicated the hot drink.

"Drink it, Aiden – it'll help you warm up."

"I should have listened to you, days ago – then I wouldn't have been almost drowned..."

"You couldn't have known that they would turn on you – they dumped me and then they've tried to kill me repeatedly," I replied.

"Yeah, they sent me to kill her; three times I tried, only each time, I failed," Saoirse added as she came to sit down on the other side of Aiden.

"You're both _Urban Predator_?"

"I was Foxtail."

"I was Psyche, as you know."

"I'm not as famous as my young friend here, but then we're not _supposed_ to be in the limelight!" Saoirse laughed.

"What do I do now?"

"Now? You rest."

* * *

After bedding Aiden down in the spare bunk below Eric's, I sought out Mindy.

I found her in the galley where she was playing cards with Danny, Cassie and Natasha.

"What is it?" Mindy asked and I shuffled into the seat beside Natasha and Cassie.

"It's Aiden, isn't it?" Cassie suggested.

"What's going to happen to him?"

"Stephanie, you're ten-years-old; you are _not_ responsible for the boy," Mindy said strongly.

"If I had rescued him, earlier, then he might not have been almost drowned..."

"Oh, sweetie," Natasha said as she took hold of me by my chin and she tilted my head back so that she could look into my eyes. "You are still so innocent, despite everything that you've been through. You can't take the weight of the world on your shoulders – even if your mother does..."

I heard Mum growl good-naturedly and Cassie laughed before Mum addressed me directly.

"You took responsibility for Saoirse, brought her into our home and you helped her. You cried for four straight nights after those two _Urban Predator_ kids were gunned down in Chicago... There's nothing wrong with being human and caring; Dave taught me that. I know I go too far, so I know what I am talking about when I suggest that you ease up."

I smiled. Weakly.

"Kids!" Mum growled. "Come with me, Stephanie, I have an idea of what we can do with Aiden and I think that you might just approve."

I allowed Mindy to take my hand and she led me up a deck and then forward to her cabin. She sat down on the bed and she picked up the phone. She dialled the Command Centre on speaker.

"Abby – could you get me the full number for Wayne Manor in Gotham, please?"

"What am I, directory enquiries?" Abby demanded. "On its way, boss – transferring you now..."

There was a short pause and then...

"Wayne Manor..."


	25. Toulouse

**_Monday, 9th May 2016_**

 ** _Ocean Vigilante  
76nm west-northwest of Biarritz, France  
Position: 43.7645° N 3.2947° W  
Course: 102°, Speed: 15 knots_**

There was one more celebration before we made landfall.

It had been a major turning point for us all, only there was one member who while happy, had other reasons to be unhappy about the day's events exactly one year previously.

"Everybody, one year ago tonight, somebody died. It was the end of a saga that created Hit Girl. The man almost cost me my best friend one more than one occasion..."

I actually faltered and I saw Chloe unconsciously rubbing the barely visible scar on her left lower arm, just below the elbow. Dave picked things up.

"That man was Ralph D'Amico and his death brought to an end the tyranny that his family had represented for many years. It was the D'Amico family that first caused Damon Macready to desire revenge and therefore train his young daughter to become the most feared vigilante on the planet: Hit Girl."

I felt my face burning at Dave's words but I also felt pleasure as Chloe gripped my hand tightly.

* * *

"What happened?" Stephanie asked.

Chloe and I related that story of the attack on the _Nebuchadnezzar_ and Wildcat coming face to face with Ralph D'Amico, followed by D'Amico blowing the yacht up; almost with us onboard. We detailed the attack which led to Shadow being taken and the joint attack with the Russians and SWAT to get her back.

Then came the more traumatic portion where Chloe described her arm almost being severed – that fact was not widely known and many wanted to see the scar on Chloe's arm. We finished the story with Jackal's rescue and then the decapitation of Ralph D'Amico. Everybody laughed as Megan described Eisenhower getting her own bite in on Ralph's family jewels.

"The D'Amico family were beyond evil; but they are now all very dead. That was the end of a very hectic couple of weeks that also saw us meet a new vigilante in town – Petra!"

Hailee grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, Joshua thought she was 'very hot', I think the words were..." Chloe laughed and both Joshua and Hailee blushed wildly.

* * *

 ** _That night_**

I was lying on a mattress, on the floor of the cabin that I was now sharing with Cassie and Natasha.

Stephanie had come in to talk and as it usually did, the conversation veered into _Urban Predator_ territory.

"Do you remember your training?"

"Huh?"

"Do you remember your training?" Stephanie repeated.

"I assume you mean the conditioning?"

"Yeah..."

"To be honest, I try not to..."

"I keep having nightmares and I see snippets of what I went through... During the attack on the _Ocean Vigilante_ , I dreamt about water and being repeatedly dunked in it…"

I sat up in the bed and looked over at Stephanie. Every kid went through extensive conditioning during the three phases of their training. I vividly remembered being stripped and repeatedly dunked into a tank of freezing cold water. It had been during the Phase 1 training and it had scared the living daylights out of me. At the time, I had been just ten-years-old.

The water conditioning was two-fold. As well as conditioning the trainee – me – those actually doing the conditioning were usually teenage Phase 3 trainees and they were being taught torture and interrogation techniques. The two teenage girls who had dragged me out of a class, one morning, and then hauled me down to Room 101 had ignored my pleas – I knew that they had no choice but to follow orders. Once in the room, I was forcibly stripped down to my underwear and then forced headfirst into the ice cold tank of water.

I had never been so scared in my life and I had felt like I was going to drown.

"I remember it – I hated it; I was your age when I endured it... But, unlike you, I completed my Phase 2 and my Phase 3 training – I had to half drown other ten-year-old girls; I enjoyed doing it, I enjoyed the power of being in control..."

"You had no choice, SD – don't dwell on it . . . I'm sorry that I even brought it up..."

"Not your fault – you needed answers and it's not like there's many other people you could ask!"

"There was Aiden."

"You fancied that boy..."

"No way – that's disgusting!"

"You'll learn, little lady..."

"I am _not_ little!"

"You're no _lady_ either!"

"That's one hell of a statement coming from a fourteen-year-old girl who kept a well-used vibrator in her bathroom!"

"How...?"

"...could I know?" Stephanie smirked. "Mathilda told me... I gather there was a condom or two missing as well..."

My face was burning and I was _not_ about to have that sort of conversation with a ten-year-old girl who had not even started puberty!

"I'm tired; goodnight, Stephanie..."

"Night, Foxy!"

I growled.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, 10th May 2016  
Early Morning_**

 ** _Biarritz, France_**

Considering that we had just blown another vessel out of the water, we could not afford for _Ocean Vigilante_ to enter a port in France and then be immediately impounded, so she would be sailed to England and a secure port.

We, as in _Fusion_ and _Vengeance_ , would not be aboard. We went ashore very early that morning and we were met by our transport. I had a distinct feeling that Dave did not approve...

* * *

"Okay, Mindy – which bit of 'subtle' did you _not_ understand?"

"But they're cool, Dave..."

I stared at the four luxury cars that Mindy had acquired.

"They're rentals..." she tried.

" _Still_ not subtle!"

The first two vehicles were four-door, but that was where 'normal' came to a crashing halt... One was Madagascar Orange, the other Cobalt Blue. I knew the specs – they each had a 6.0-litre V12 engine under their hoods and they could reach 203mph and 60mph in 4.2 seconds. Each Aston Martin Rapide S could carry four comfortably.

I noticed that Mindy had acquired a two-door coupe for herself! She had selected an Aston Martin Vanquish in a very appealing Volcano Red. It had a slower top-speed, by two – but it could reach sixty in only 3.6 seconds!

The fourth vehicle was a monstrous long wheelbase Range Rover in a contrastingly subtle Aintree Green. It was powered by a 4.4-litre V8 diesel engine and the huge vehicle could hit sixty in 6.6 seconds and then fly to 135 miles-per-hour.

* * *

Our first stop was the airport.

We pulled into a large hanger and the doors were closed behind us.

"Marty!"

Kim ran towards the love of her life and they both hugged each other. Abby and Eric ignored the lovefest and they both headed over to a Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules, where three short-wheelbase Ford Transit vans were being unloaded. Each was dark grey and nearly identical, though one van sported some strange appendages on the roof but nothing that stood out too much.

There was another aircraft in the hanger, over to the side. The Gulfstream G280 was one of the smaller executive jets on the market, but still just as luxurious as the larger models. Standing beside the lowered staircase were two people that we had not seen in many months.

"Selina, Bruce!"

Chloe and Megan ran forward and gave both teens an enormous hug.

"What are you doing here?" Chloe exclaimed.

"I needed to check on my French assets," Bruce Wayne explained somewhat cryptically.

"Anything, to get outta Gotham!" Selina Kyle grimaced.

"It's good to see you guys," I said as I hugged Selina.

"It's good to see _you_ , Mindy, you too, Dave, and the others..." Selina replied. "A few more recruits, I see."

"This is my eldest daughter, Stephanie," I offered. "Stephanie, please meet Selina Kyle, and her boyfriend, Bruce Wayne!"

"Mindy!" Selina exclaimed with a blush.

"I could spot it a mile away, girl!"

"Good to meet you, Stephanie; I look forward to getting to know you." Selina was obviously very pleased to be able to change the subject!

I introduced the other newcomers to _Fusion_ as well as those from _Vengeance_. Anne-Marie and Danny insisted on showing off their Balisongs and Anne-Marie her Butterfly Swords. Selina had commented that she was very pleased to see that the twins had grown and had flourished since leaving Gotham. She commented that not much of what came out of Gotham ever did so well.

..._...

I turned to the boy who was standing over near the Range Rover. He looked beyond apprehensive and I understood that he had been very quiet ever since we had left _Ocean Vigilante_. Stephanie and Saoirse brought him over to me. He almost flinched as I spoke.

Onboard, he had avoided me. I knew why – I had a reputation – and he was sit scared of me, despite Stephanie telling him that I was harmless!

"Aiden – this is Bruce and Selina; you will be safe with them and a long way away from the CIA."

"Hi, Aiden," Bruce said as he held out his right hand. "We have a home for you..."

"Hi," Aiden replied, shaking the outstretched hand.

"Selina."

"Hi, Selina."

"You obey Selina and Bruce; they will look after you and they will help you to adjust," I suggested. "You need to talk, Aiden, then me, Stephanie, even Saoirse; we will be available if you need us."

"Thanks, Mindy."

The boy was nervous as he was led aboard the executive jet and I saw him take a seat beside a window – he actually smiled for the first time that day.

* * *

We left the airport in convoy with the vans interspersed between the other vehicles.

They had to be protected at all costs as they were crucial to the next twenty-four hours and our attack on the _Urban Predator_ HQ. The four-hour drive east along the northern flank of the Pyrenees was tense as everybody knew what was coming up. It was a fast Autoroute most of the way with some of it arrow-straight.

I noticed that Stephanie was very quiet and she just stared out of the window for the majority of the ride. She knew what was at stake and what finishing off Vossen would mean.

* * *

 ** _Tuesday, 10th May 2016  
Late Morning_**

 ** _Toulouse, France_**

We pulled up at the deployment point to find a car already there.

Leaning against the glacier white Clio RenaultSport car which sat on giant eighteen-inch alloy wheels, was a stunning young woman. She wore tight fitting purple trousers with a dark grey blazer, which was lined with pink polka dots over a plain white t-shirt. On her feet were functional pink trainers with soft soles. Her hair was black, with pale blue highlights and currently hung loosely across her shoulders. Her bluebell eyes were sparkling as she smiled in our direction.

"Nice!" Joshua commented as he climbed out of one of the Astons.

"The car or the French tart?" Chloe enquired with menace in her tone as she excited from the other side of the same vehicle.

"The car – definitely the car..."

I shook my head and ignored Joshua's obvious discomfort. Everybody else laughed, except for Chloe who just glowered at her boyfriend.

..._...

"Bonjour mes amis!" The woman offered pleasantly.

"Hello – we've met before, haven't we...?" I enquired as I approached.

The girl smiled.

"In the day time, I'm Marinette; just a normal girl, with a normal life, but there's something about me, that no one knows yet, 'cause I have a secret. I live a life that's full of fun, that keeps me sharp and on the run. When evil comes, I find a way to use my force and save the day. Life's got me spinning 'round, my feet are off the ground and when the sun goes down, you had better hang around!"

"Sounds like the theme to some cheesy anime!" Chloe quipped bitchily.

Marinette ignored her.

"That's when I become..."

"Ladybug!" I cut in with a grin.

"Oui, La Coccinelle!"

..._...

"Mindy Lizewski..." I said as I held out my hand.

"Marinette Cheng..."

I turned to the others who all seemed somewhat confused.

"I called Marinette here and asked for her help, plus her local knowledge. I had no idea of her true identity at the time, but she has seen fit to trust us all and reveal it to us. I trust her, and so can you. Marinette knows what we are doing, so..."

"Thank you for your support, Marinette," Dave said with a grin.

"Toulouse is where I was born and I lived there for ten years before I moved to Paris – I think I know what you are looking for and I can help you."

Stephanie stepped forwards.

"Thank you..." she said simply.

"I am sorry to hear about what happened to you and to your friend," Marinette offered, looking from Stephanie to Saoirse.

"We have a lot to do," I cut in. "Let's get to the Safehouse and begin our reconnaissance."

* * *

 ** _The Safehouse_**

Everybody rested as much as possible at the Toulouse Safehouse.

Marty had given it a dorky name; no surprise there! The Safehouse was now known as _Echo Base_ , while his Command Van was _Echo Three_ and there were no prizes for guessing his motivation for those codenames. We also had a backup Safehouse, _Echo Alternate_. All our spare equipment and kit would be packed up and ready to go, just in case we had to run – it would also be booby-trapped; just in case...

We were taking no chances.

..._...

As for the plans for the day, the twins would remain at the Safehouse for the duration of the day and the attack that night – with Hailee to keep an eye on them. Hailee hated being kept out of the action, but she was experienced and mature enough to realise that she would just be a liability rather than an asset.

The attack, itself, was timed for eight that night and there was plenty to be done, even after resting. Everybody was on edge, which was expected. Marty was with Abby and Eric and they were all hard at work preparing the UAVs and support equipment.

The only unknown was when the CIA might detect our presence in the French city and counter-attack.

* * *

 ** _1700 Hours_**

I was feeling emotional, just as I often was before a major attack.

Usually the emotion was pent up anger and other similar feelings, but now, I felt sadness and fear. I was busy helping my kids to gear up and not just the eldest, Stephanie, but also the twins. I had issued orders that nobody was to take any unnecessary risks or chances. In line with that order, I had the twins pulling on their combat suits and preparing their weapons. The chances of them seeing any action were very slim and they would have Hailee to defend them.

As I helped Anne-Marie to pull on her suit, I felt scared that I might never have the chance to do the same again. I knew that the night's attack would be bad and that some may be injured . . . or worse.

"What's wrong, Mommy?" Anne-Marie asked.

"Nothing, honey . . . you make sure that you and your brother listen to Hailee and you stay sharp, okay?"

"I promise," Anne-Marie replied.

"I promise," Danny added.

I saw Stephanie grimace as she zipped up the top of her own combat suit. She knew what was going through my mind. Once the twins were suitably dressed, Stephanie and I armed them. We secure their utility belts around their waists and helped them check their pistols, spare magazines, and their Balisong knives. Next, came their melee weapons which were mounted on their backs.

For Rogue, it was her Butterfly Swords, while for Ravage, it was his tactical Wakizashi.

* * *

 ** _1800 Hours_**

An hour later, it was time to leave.

"You two be good, understand?"

"Always," my sister replied.

"We will," my brother added.

"Look after them, Petra..."

"I will not let anything happen to them, Psyche, rest easy – you too, Hit Girl," Petra replied.

I looked over at Mum and she seemed uneasy.

"Let's go, Hit Girl," I suggested and I gave each of my siblings a final hug.

* * *

 ** _1930 Hours_**

 ** _Fusion Safehouse  
Echo Base_**

I was the delegated child minder.

It wasn't the first time, either. I could handle Ravage and Rogue – Petra could handle anything – even a pair of slightly wild eight-year-olds! Despite us being over a dozen miles from the action, Hit Girl had made sure that we were prepared for anything and as such, we each wore our full combat suits, with our weapons, but with masks removed and close to hand.

We sat eating pizza and drinking Coke while we monitored the sensors and cameras which Marty and Eric had installed around the property.

* * *

 ** _CIA Station, Toulouse_**

The time had come, and with just over twenty minutes to go, I was focussed on the task ahead.

Everybody was in position and as far as we knew, the CIA were not privy to our presence. While the main physical attack was not launching for another twenty minutes, a cyber-attack on the Urban Predator HQ had been underway for a number of hours. Marty had engaged his _Synthesis_ team to disrupt the site over the internet. Exactly what they were doing, I had no idea, but if it distracted the enemy, then fine. I turned to Kick-Ass.

"Looking good..."

"Yes, it does, my love."

* * *

 ** _Fusion Safehouse  
Echo Base_**

I took up position in front of the twins as I keyed the VOX on my combat suit and sent the panic codewords: " _Flank Two! Flank Two!_ "

"You will not pass," I growled as I made my position _very_ clear.

I drew my tactical Katanas.

* * *

 ** _Fusion Command Van  
Echo Three_**

Battle Guy bolted upright at the codewords.

"Oh, fuck!"

Hal was startled but she immediately pressed a button to open up a channel to Hit Girl.

"Hit Girl, Hal – we have a 'Flank Two' codeword from _Echo Base_..."

Marty was already in the driver's seat and he had started the engine. Eric pulled out weapons and prepared them for when they arrived.

* * *

 ** _CIA Station, Toulouse_**

We were a mere twenty minutes from breaching as one of my deepest, darkest nightmares came true – talk about shitty timing!

Preparations for such an eventuality had been made and I had to trust in the plan, no matter how much I hated doing it. I had to trust my team to support me, and that meant leaving my kids' safety in the hands of others.

I turned back to my part of the plan.

* * *

 ** _Echo Base_**

"This ain't the first time that these two have been threatened nor had attempts made on their lives..." I growled. "You guys wanna know what happened to the man who kidnapped Rogue?"

The big man shook his head.

"She fired ten-rounds into the fucker – guess what; he's dead..."

Rogue stepped forwards on my right, reached behind her waist with both hands and then swept them both downwards in mirrored fluid movements. The twin Butterfly swords were both ominously very beautiful and very deadly – I was actually a tiny bit jealous; maybe more than a bit actually... Rogue brought the swords out in front of her ready to fight. Ravage stepped forwards on my left and he reached above his right shoulder and drew his tactical Wakizashi before he too took up a fighting stance, ready to attack.

The four men smirked at the sight of the two pint-sized vigilantes as they showed some teeth.

"You two might hurt somebody with those!" One chuckled.

"That's kinda the point, you stupid dumb fuck!" Rogue snarled.

The man looked pissed.

"Bring it on, motherfuckers!" Ravage added and I smiled, proud to serve alongside Rogue and Ravage.

" _TAKE THEM!_ " I yelled.

The three of us moved as one, directly _at_ the four CIA men.

* * *

 ** _Echo Three_**

I drove as fast as I dared, which was still way too fast, especially when you considered that I was driving a van with borderline lethal top-weight and horrendous handling.

The situation was bad; we had a pair of UAVs airborne and we had to maintain communications with them while simultaneously relaying the images to the strike force. What shitty timing! I just hoped that Petra could hold the attackers off until we arrived... All three were on VOX and I could hear the fighting and rather surprisingly, I could have sworn that I heard the CIA men calling for backup!

I actually chuckled at one stage when Rogue spoke.

"The fucker got blood on my sword!" Came the surprisingly indignant comment.

"That's what happens when you slash somebody, Rogue..." Petra responded in a very calm tone.

We were just around the corner...

..._...

Forty seconds later, I skidded to a halt outside 'Echo Base' and dived out of the van, an H&K G36C in my hands. I ran inside, followed by Eric, a pistol in his hands, and...

"Holy fuck!" Eric exclaimed as he took in the scene laid out before us.

It was total carnage... There were _six_ dead bodies on the floor and blood everywhere... I saw Petra down on one knee, breathing heavily and in obvious pain. I looked over at the twins, Rogue and Ravage...

"Took your fucking time, Battle Guy – sorry, we left nothing for you to do..." Rogue exclaimed.

"That was actually fun!" Ravage added.

I saw that the each of the five visible blades had blood dripping from them. It seemed that Rogue had a few more notches for her belt and Ravage had gained a place on the scoreboard. The twins were obviously having fun and were in high spirits, but Petra looked like she needed help.

"You okay, Petra?" I asked as I helped her to her feet and over to a chair.

"Some of my bruises have yet to heal and those bastards found every fucking one!"

"We need to move – Rogue, Ravage: start gathering kit, we're heading for 'Echo Alternate'. Hal, Signal 'Flank Zero'."

* * *

 ** _CIA Station, Toulouse_**

I had never been so happy to hear Hal and then those very special words.

The twins were safe and so was Hailee – thank God... With only minutes to go before the assault began, I would be able to fight without worrying about anything which may distract me from my task ahead. Other than Kick-Ass, who had held my hand tightly over the past eight minutes, nobody else knew how close tragedy had been.

Eight minutes was all it had taken – I was looking forward to the After Action Report from the twins and Petra.


	26. Predator Showdown

**_Tuesday, 10th May 2016_**

 ** _CIA Station, Toulouse  
Urban Predator Headquarters (Europe)  
Four-hundred yards to the east_**

 ** _1950 Hours_**

I left Kick-Ass and I pulled the two girls to one side.

"Look – I know I've told you two to control your lust for blood and your killing – especially you, Psyche, but right now I want you both to forget what I've said. I want you both to use every skill that you have ever learnt to destroy those who occupy that building. You will give no quarter. Let your anger for them guide you and help you to inflict the worst possible injuries that you can. You will kill and you will keep killing, until they are _all_ destroyed..."

The two girls looked at one another for a moment and then they both nodded.

"This ends _tonight_ ," Foxtail growled in agreement as she unsheathed her beautiful and very battle-ready Butterfly swords.

"Too damn right, my Foxy pal," Psyche added, a Sai in each hand.

"Go, both of you; kill them . . . finish this."

* * *

With just seconds to go before the assault, we were all poised and ready.

The facility that we were about to assault seemed to me very like a school – in fact, it had probably been intended for that exact purpose. Marty had obtained the detailed plans with the help of his _Synthesis_ friends. The facility was enormous and was primarily at ground level with only a small proportion on the second floor. The facility was accessed via one of two access roads that passed through a single security point and then up a sweeping road, beyond the security point, and part way up a hill to where the main building was situated.

A lot of the greener parts of the site were occupied by trees, but the rest was just grass. There was also the possibility of hidden security. Infra-red images from the UAVs had identified over seventy hot bodies within the building. Forty to fifty of those were classified as minors while the rest were most probably adults and therefore valid targets of opportunity. To be safe, we also had to possibly double the number of adults as many may not have shown up on the infra-red scan depending on the building's structure.

..._...

The tactical position was fairly simple. Leon was on overwatch and in a concealed position, high on the hill above the facility. She had two other prepared positions to move to as required – we had to consider that the CIA may have counter-snipers. The rest of _Fusion_ and _Vengeance_ had separated into five teams; each team with their own tasking.

Strike Team 1 consisted of Hit Girl, Shadow, Psyche, Crimson, and La Coccinelle.

Strike Team 2 consisted of Kick-Ass, Jackal, Spectre, Nemesis, and Drift.

Strike Team 3 consisted of Hawk, Wildcat, Raven, Foxtail, and Trojan.

Support Team A consisted of Battle Guy and Q.

Support Team B consisted of Wraith and Hal.

Both Support Teams were in the Command Vans, _Echo Two_ and _Echo Three_ which were parked in previously secured positions, over five miles away. Petra, Rogue, and Ravage were holed up in _Echo Alternate_ and, I hoped, keeping out of any more trouble!

* * *

I had extensively briefed everybody on stealth and silent killing.

We had already witnessed what those bastards could do when called upon. The assault was a risk, but we had to shut the program down and we were at _Urban Predator Prime_ – live or die, we would end _Urban Predator_ that night. Earlier that day, I had spent some time with both Stephanie and her _Urban Predator_ compatriot, Saoirse.

Saoirse, naturally, had had the most up to date information on _Urban Predator_ and she had raised concerns about the Phase 3 trainees; they would be ruthless and it would be very difficult, if not borderline impossible, to make them see sense.

Me being Hit Girl; well, I had a plan for that!

..._...

I was reminded of the assault that I had made to rescue Big Daddy, all those years previously. I was in my Hit Girl suit – not the same one, obviously – and I was wearing night-vision equipment. The current NVG equipment was fourth generation and fresh from our creative friend in Gotham. They were more compact and much lighter than the older models. On my back, I carried my Twin Wakizashi swords – I deemed the place being too enclosed for my Katanas. On my hips, I carried a pair of Glock 22 Gen4 Pistols in .40-Calibre. I also had my usual array of throwing knives plus two other more specialised weapons.

Beside me, was Shadow; she had her bō-staff across her back, plus she carried a shorter version of her compound bow, with a quiver of arrows of varying lethality, not to mention her usual FN Five-seveN pistol and one other device. I could tell that she was tense – we all were; a lot rode on the outcome of the night's mission, which was why there were nineteen people directly involved in the operation. Those vigilantes varied in age from the youngest, ten-year-old, Psyche, through to the twenty-nine-year-old, Hawk.

Psyche, easily the smallest – sorry, shortest – in our group, was also the keenest to fight. She carried her Sais on her lower legs, the grips level with her knees, and two SIG Sauer P30SK Compact pistols in 9-mm, on her hips. A large combat knife lived on her lower back, plus she carried a pair of throwing knives on her thighs. I knew that the young girl was desperate to put an end to the part of her life that had torn her from her family and then sent her on a path of murderous destruction.

Either side of the diminutive Psyche stood the other two girls who made up Strike Team 1. Crimson carried her usual weapons: her double-ended bō-staff, eight ceramic throwing knives, and her FN Five-seveN Mk2 pistol. She had a special task that night; she was to keep an eye on Psyche – just in case she went off the rails...

That left La Coccinelle, or Ladybug as we called her. She wore her usual cat-suit type combat suit and she carried a SIG Sauer P320 subcompact pistol on her right hip and a large knife on her left ankle. Around her waist were pouches for her various other items of very lethal weaponry.

..._...

Strike Team 2 assembled and the boys prepared themselves by swapping some very dirty jokes, making crude sexual innuendo and generally keeping moral up. I had to admit that I had trouble not giggling when Drift produced some viciously funny jokes to which Jackal threw in some of his own equally funny and very crude jokes. Unfortunately for Nemesis, she was also a part of Team 2, but she told me that she could handle _any_ boy! The nineteen-year-old Brit, was armed with her Katana, Tanto and FN Five-seveN Mk2 pistol. Her blooding had only occurred a couple of weeks previously, but she had proved to have a head for fighting and she was a superb asset to have by your side.

..._...

Strike Team 3 was made up of the remainder. Hawk had not been out much, thanks to her maternity leave. Now, though, she was back. She had her usual bō-staff, but she also carried a matching compound bow and a quiver on her back. On her right hip, she carried a Glock 17 Gen4 pistol while on her left, she carried a Taser – but not the same model as she had previously carried.

On her left side, there stood Wildcat and Trojan. The two eleven-year-olds we also well-armed for their sortie that night. Wildcat had her claws as always, plus her SIG Sauer P250 Combat Threaded Barrel pistol which sat on her right thigh. On her back, she carried her Wakizashi sword. Trojan was similarly equipped, but with a Glock 19 Gen 4 Compact pistol on his thigh plus a pair of Fairburn-Sykes Fighting Knives.

To her right, were our newest active recruits – Morgan and Foxtail. Both were seasoned, however, for them both it would be the first time fighting alongside Fusion. For Foxtail, the night would be the end of an era for her and I hoped that she would be able to bury her demons. Morgan, well, she had buried her own demons but she did seem to enjoy a good fight. Both girls were armed with pistols – a pair of Beretta Px4 Storm Compact Type G pistols in .40-calibre Smith & Wesson for Foxtail, and a single Smith & Wesson M&P9 pistol for Raven. Foxtail had her beautiful Butterfly swords and Raven had her single Katana.

Raven seemed very keen to prove to me that she could be useful to _Fusion_. I knew she was okay, or I would never have let her move to Chicago, but the sixteen-year-old girl was adamant that she had something to prove.

* * *

 ** _The Gatehouse_**

 ** _1958 Hours_**

Foxtail and Psyche went in first.

The two girls vanished into the darkness, at least they did to any outside observers who may have been watching them. To us, they were readily visible via the NVGs. The two girls stopped right on the edge of the lights that illuminated the area which surrounded the Gatehouse. Inside the Gatehouse were four men, all armed with pistols and all uniformed as security guards.

Three thousand feet above us, the two ScanEagle X200 UAVs, Eagle-1 and Eagle-2, cruised on their 1.5-horsepower engines. They sent a false-colour infra-red image to screens on the left wrist of our combat suits. From the aerial view, we could see that there was nobody else anywhere near to the Gatehouse and no vehicles were approaching the site. The majority of warm bodies in the main building were gathered in what we believed to be the dormitories and living quarters on the second floor.

As the time clicked to 2000 Hours, the lights went out around and inside the Gatehouse.

* * *

 ** _Psyche with Foxtail_**

The moment the lights went out, I focussed on our targets as we both moved silently towards the Gatehouse. The four men were talking loudly as they attempted to find out why the power had gone down. Two of them left the Gatehouse and one looked up towards the main building which was still ablaze with light.

"Must be a local fuse..."

He said no more – he could not; all that came out of his mouth was air and some blood. Foxtail gently eased the dead man to the ground and she patted the corpse on the head before she moved around the back of the single storey building, the Butterfly knife in her right hand still dripped blood from the man's almost severed neck.

..._...

The other man turned to see why his colleague had suddenly gone quiet. He saw a shadow and he turned towards the Gatehouse and backup . . . but he was too late as I drove a Sai into his right ear. His eyes rolled up into his head and I yanked out the Sai as he crumpled to the ground.

We both met up beside the door to the Gatehouse. I waved Foxtail forward, she shook her head and waved _me_ forward. I shook my head and pointed at Foxtail, then at the door to the Gatehouse – she shook her head again and I saw a finger point at me and then at the Gatehouse door. I was about to shake my head when Hit Girl blasted into my earpiece.

"Will you two Urban Princesses stop fucking about!"

I grabbed the door handle and I pulled the door open.

..._...

Foxtail threw a pair of combat knives through the air and both security guards slumped down in their chairs.

"I think they got the point..." I chuckled and Foxtail slapped me around the back of the head. "Hands off, Foxy..."

"Will you two either get a room, or get with the fucking mission; jeez!"

"Easy, my purple queen!" I replied.

"I'm gonna kill her..." Hit Girl muttered. "I'm gonna..."

There followed a few choice and very crude methods for gutting a ten-year-old – somewhat painfully, I thought . . . and totally uncalled for...

* * *

 ** _Strike Team 1_**

Foxy and Psycho rejoined their teams.

With the Gatehouse neutralised, we all moved forwards, in our teams, towards the floodlit main building up above us. Stealth was the order of the night and we relied on the NVGs and advance warning from the support teams who were able to access the downlink from the drones and spot anybody lying in wait for us.

We kept to the trees as much as possible. Those trees moved and rustled in the gentle breeze which blew that night and their movement would mask our own.

..._...

We headed towards the kitchens on the east side of the building. They would bring us in, just short of the centre of the facility. As expected for that time of night, the kitchens were clear and disabling the security on the outside door had not been difficult.

The kitchens were dark and expansive. We used our NVG equipment as much as possible to retain our stealth. At some stage, the men at the Gatehouse would be missed and the alarm would be raised. As if on cue, a red light began to flash in the kitchen and the whole space was eerily lit up – then came a raucous klaxon. The alarm _had_ been raised! I had barely taken another step before a pair of doors burst open and men appeared while bullets preceded them.

Everybody scattered and I dived down behind the kitchen counter as dozens of bullets headed in my direction.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl_**

There was total pandemonium.

Glass shattered all around me and I suddenly found myself back in Frank D'Amico's kitchen as I dodged bullets, glass, and razor-sharp flying shrapnel. Talk about bad memories! I heard a large explosion as a grenade detonated a few yards away and the shooting rapidly stopped. However, I stayed on the floor behind the kitchen counter as I heard feet crunch through the broken glass towards me.

..._...

I brought up my Glock 22 and aimed for the end of the counter. A shadow came into sight, followed by a foot and then...

"Really – we doing this shit again?" Kick-Ass demanded.

"Again?" Drift asked.

"I've rescued her from a kitchen before," Kick-Ass chuckled.

"This is _nothing_ like that," I growled as I stood up and holstered my pistol.

"No..." Kick-Ass said sarcastically. "Nothing like it . . . _at all_!"

* * *

 ** _Wildcat with Hawk, Raven, and Trojan_**

I was overjoyed at fighting beside Trojan – I was not about to let him get blown up again, either!

Behind us, came Hawk and Raven. We were in the southern portion of the facility which was mainly given over to classrooms. We had to search each and every one. We entered as a team and generally, I went first as the smallest and lithest. The first two classrooms were empty which might have lulled us into a false sense of security. As we had done twice before, Hawk pushed open the door while I dove in and scanned the room with Raven and Trojan following behind.

I felt a pair of bullets hit my chest and I went over backwards. Trojan put my assailant down with a single bullet to the head. Hawk and Raven each took down two more gunmen. I was about to declare the room clear as Hawk pulled me back to me feet when there came the sound of shattering glass and then the thud of a heavy bullet as it impacted the wall at the back of the classroom opposite the windows.

The first thud was followed by another as the headless corpse of a fourth gunman dropped to the floor of the classroom. I took in the single hole in the glass and the single hole in the classroom wall.

"We always keep our backs where, Wildcat?"

"To the wall, Leon – to the fucking wall!" I retorted. I was very pissed at being caught out and almost shot. Worse, I had that damn quote applied to my failure – of Hit Girl found out, I'd never live it down.

"Nice shooting by the way..."

* * *

In the next classroom, I heard something, but I could not make anything out.

I raised a finger to my mask and the others instantly understood as I moved slowly and silently around the classroom.

"Wildcat, Leon – I have a faint infra-red heat source, west end of the classroom."

I raised a thumb to show that I had received the message and I moved to the far end. I waved Trojan over to cover the other side of a group of tables and Raven to move up with me. Hawk kept an eye on the door. I heard the noise again – it was a slight scuffling and . . . a whimper? I raised my left hand, fist clenched and Raven froze along with Trojan.

I waved Raven forwards and she moved slowly and carefully, her pistol held out before her.

* * *

 ** _Raven with Hawk, Wildcat, and Trojan_**

It was definitely a whimpering sound and it was coming from beneath a waist-high bench that was built into the back wall.

I moved closer and while Trojan and Wildcat covered me, I holstered my pistol and with a good idea what was hiding in the darkness, I plunged both arms in and grabbed hold of two objects that began to scream and fight as I hauled them out into the open.

..._...

In each hand, I held a young kid – maybe eight or nine – both were girls and both were crying as they fought.

"Stop!" I said strongly but quietly. "We are not going to hurt either of you, okay?"

I had to repeat it twice more before the two terrified kids calmed down. I pushed them back into their cubbyhole and knelt down before them.

"I am Raven and I am a member of _Fusion_ – we do not hurt kids, even _Urban Predator_ kids."

I saw relief on the two young faces – they looked like twins, although one might have been slightly older than the other.

"Both of you – stay put and you will be safe," I said quietly. "I will come back for you both, once this is over, okay? What are your names?"

The younger looking one looked to the girl who spoke.

"I'm Naomi and this is my cousin, Kaitlin."

"Stay safe, girls – don't come out except for one of us."

We left the classroom and moved on.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl_**

Fresh from my kitchen embarrassment, I was in a foul mood as I made my way deeper into the school.

I came across a man, his back to me, in the darkness. I wrapped my arm around his neck and I began to squeeze.

"Attacking out of the darkness ain't fair..." the man tried.

"Fairness went out the window with the twenty-six dead kids, fucker!"

There was a very audible crack as the man's neck snapped in my hands. It was a method of killing that I rarely used, unless I was really, really, pissed... I moved on and began to fight a man only a few inches taller than myself but he was broad and he had muscles.

We fought; neither of us gave much ground – my punches and kicks landed but they seemed to do nothing more than piss off my opponent. Naturally, he saw a small shape and assumed a girl – he was right but I was _not_ defenceless; I could give as good as I got, if not better!

I upped my effort and I began to worry the man as the fight began to turn against him. My strikes came harder and faster as he tried in desperation to block them.

"Have mercy . . . give quarter..."

"Quarter be damned!" I growled as I drove two fingers into his eyes and pushed the eyeballs backwards into his brain. Slimy, yet satisfying, in a freaky kind of way...

"Give no quarter!" I barked out to all within hearing as I moved on towards the next breathing defender.

..._...

I saw Psyche fighting a man more than twice her size but her diminutive size meant a smaller target and Psyche could move very fast when required. Her lithe form twisted to avoid the man's powerful strikes but every now and then a punch would make contact with the ten-year-old and she would fall to the ground – but only for an instant as she sprang back up and reattacked.

I punched the man hard, in the side of the head and he fell to his knees where again, I kicked him in the head and he fell to the floor. Psyche turned to glare up at me.

"No fair – he was mine, bitch!" She growled.

"Sorry!" I replied defensively and I raised my hands in mock surrender.

The man tried to get up and he had risen as far as his knees when Psyche drew her pistol and blew his brains out.

"I never said you could get up, bastard – move again and I fucking kill yer!"

I chuckled and shook my head as Psyche holstered her pistol and then ran off towards her next victim.

..._...

I headed down a corridor which led to classrooms and that was where I came across my first unwanted obstacle of the evening.

"You shall not pass..."

The six youths, an even mix of boys and girls, stood shoulder to shoulder and they blocked my path. They each wore Kevlar body armour and lightweight, navy blue overalls. They all seemed to be mid-teens, which I reasoned, made them Phase 3 and therefore very dangerous. They were all armed with a pistol each and the said pistols were each held expertly, ready to fire.

"I will give you all a chance to _walk_ away free from this place. _Urban Predator_ is finished – you may have heard of me..."

"We don't care who you are, bitch!" One boy yelled out.

I heard pounding feet behind me and I was joined by La Coccinelle.

"Ah, Hit Girl..." she drawled, her French accent heavy on the words.

I saw six pairs of eyes go wide at the mention of my name.

" _You_ are Hit Girl?" A girl asked with surprise.

The voice trembled slightly.

"I am . . . and I am giving you all a chance to live – take it; join us."

Poor brainwashed bastards, I thought as I saw the pistols come up as one, but before they were ready to fire, I had seized my alternate weapons from my hips and I raised the pair of Taser X3s towards the six kids. I triggered off all six of the cartridges; three from each Taser. The kids dropped the pistols as they fell and they convulsed on the floor. I disconnected the cartridges and reloaded before I knelt down with La Coccinelle and secured the kids' hands with zip ties. Their pistols, I disassembled and threw into a nearby waste receptacle just as Wildcat appeared around the next corner.

"Trust you to leave a mess!" The young vigilante growled and La Coccinelle laughed.

"Adieu, Wildcat, Hit Girl..." La Coccinelle said as she turned and vanished into the darkness.

"You fighting, or are you just gonna stand there like a jackass?" Wildcat demanded.

I said nothing, but I still kicked out and caught Wildcat's butt; she laughed and we both headed out to find more sport.

* * *

 ** _Kick-Ass with Jackal_**

"Oh, wow!"

I was in purple hell...

We had slipped into a classroom and on almost every noticeboard, a certain purple vigilante glared down at us. There were pictures of her from when she wore that cute pink belt and the kilt. Nasty images flashed through my mind at the sight of Kick-Ass 2.0's pint-sized headache. Later images showed my wife in her later Hit Girl incarnation with the shorter kilt and the figure hugging... Focus, Kick-Ass, focus!

Obviously, the classroom that we were in was used to teach all about Hit Girl. There were posters that showed her favourite weapons and styles of fighting. Somebody had gone to a lot of trouble to piece together Hit Girl's repertoire.

"Creepy!" Jackal commented.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Wildcat_**

We were in a room full of computers and as we searched the room, the large wall-mounted screen at the end of the room which bore a rotating commando dagger symbol, sprang to life.

I immediately went on guard, but saw nobody – I looked over at Wildcat, who just shrugged. As I turned away from the screen, Wildcat laughed.

"What?"

"Look!" Wildcat chuckled as she pointed at the large screen on which text had appeared.

Go, Hit Girl!

Love _Synthesis_...

"Oh for fuck's sake!" I growled and I saw the camera mounted above the screen.

I raised the middle finger of my left hand. The stupid Kitty-Kat actually waved, so I grabbed her and pushed her out the door.

* * *

 ** _Support Team B: Hal with Wraith  
Five miles to the south_**

"Leon, Support Bravo – you have targets of opportunity at your seven o'clock low; engage at will..."

As we both watched the large screen that showed the IR image from EAGLE-2, we followed the six men which Wraith had just reported, as they closed on the main building. They had come from a small outbuilding, which to us had seemed to be nothing of consequence but now appeared to have been a security post. There was a small flash a distance from the men, at the top of the screen and one seemed to fall, a hot pattern spreading from his body. The effect was repeated three more times as the men scattered. The last two seemed to die together when what appeared to be a single bullet took out both heads as they came into line.

"Support Bravo, Leon – six down; relocating to position Charlie.

"Copy that, Leon – stay safe..." I replied.

* * *

 ** _Foxtail with Psyche_**

I hated schools, especially psychotic ones like the one which we were in at that moment.

I could remember nothing about my schooling before _Urban Predator_ and then the school in Chicago where I had been when I was activated to go after Psyche. Since then, I had been attending the very same school as Chloe, Joshua, Morgan, and Abby among others. Consequently, I was much happier and my grades were good.

At least at a normal school, the teachers treated you well and they took the time to help you rather than just talk down to you and try to break you. I wanted to hurt them so much with every fibre of my being and I knew that my best friend felt the same.

Psyche kicked open the door to a classroom and...

..._...

I froze and so did Psyche as she stood beside me.

Unbidden, a single phrase went through my mind, the cold voice as it spoke:

 _'An asset's greatest weakness are those who  
know them. People who know you can tell others  
about you; therefore, they must be eliminated.'_

The room was stark and hospital-like. A wheeled hospital bed over to one side, a metal desk with a computer in the centre of the tiled floor. Three steel chairs over in the farthest corner... Then that voice again:

 _'Take this weapon and eliminate those closest to  
you. When you have done so, you will leave here  
not as who you were, but as Saoirse Doherty.'_

I remembered how calm I had been, how easy it had been to pull the trigger, how natural I had felt. I had taken the weapon from the woman, grip first. I had been able to tell that it was loaded – two rounds; one for each member of my family.

 _Bang! Bang! Bang!_

She had pulled off the hoods and I had seen their faces – there had been no emotion . . . I had felt nothing...

..._...

I snapped back to reality and I found that I was shaking, with a hand on the wall and Psyche yelling at me. I put a gauntleted hand to my face and I willed back the tears that flowed beneath my mask. The pain in my heart was terrible. It had always been there, in my subconscious, but until that moment, that scene had remained hidden.

"Hey, Foxtail," Psyche pushed. "We'll talk about it later, together – I know what you're feeling; I came apart at Christmas last year and they helped me – they can help you too..."

I pulled myself together and we left that room of death and sorrow but not before I threw in a pair of hand grenades.

* * *

 ** _Shadow with Crimson_**

I heard the pair of dull 'crumps' a short distance over – grenades I assumed.

The pickings were good and we were both two up and searching for more blood. We had both witnessed the dead kids and we wanted to avenge each and every one of them – it was the least that we could do.

We turned left and Crimson pushed open a pair of double doors which led into a weight's room. It was large and very well equipped – it was not empty, either. At least as far as targets were concerned... The lights came on and we pushed our NVGs out of the way. The lenses over our eyes automatically dimmed to regulate the bright light as we faced around a dozen adults – four of them women.

The fight began as a dumbbell flew in my direction – I dodged it easily and I was rapidly in a hand-to-hand fight with two men and a woman. Crimson was fighting three women as the other men just stood and watched what to them must have been a pair of one-sided fights.

They were right, partially – the fights _were_ one-sided, only, Crimson and I were going to win...

* * *

 ** _Psyche_**

I never heard them approach, but something went around my neck and that something began to tighten; I struggled to breathe.

I kicked out and attempted to break the grip of the hands that held the garrotte. I was lucky, my suit stopped the garrotte from shredding my neck but it could not stop the tightness around my throat. I tried to yell out but only a gurgle seemed to emanate from my mouth. I tried everything that I had been taught – but nothing seemed to work.

The man laughed – the fucker enjoyed his torturing of me...

* * *

 ** _Foxtail_**

Psyche was taken before I knew what was happening.

A man had a garrotte around her neck and another had kicked me down to the floor where my pistol had gone flying. I had scrambled to seize it even as I received kick after kick from the large man who seemed to enjoy kicking me. As my fingers closed around the butt of my pistol, I had a decision to make. Shoot the man killing my best friend and die myself, or shoot the man trying to kill me and lose that best friend.

It was the Devil's Alternative: whichever my choice, somebody would die.

The choice proved easier than I thought.

* * *

 ** _Psyche_**

There was a loud crack and then the pain around my neck eased.

I fell to the floor gasping for air. The man who had been strangling the life out of me lay on the floor, a hole in his forehead. I looked over at Foxtail as she knelt and smoke drifted away from the muzzle of her pistol. I took in the situation before me and I instantly realised what Foxtail had done.

'You stupid bitch!' I thought without malice but with a lot of sadness, as the CIA bastard aimed his pistol at Foxtail from merely a foot away; he fired three times...

"NO!" I screamed as my best friend collapsed to the floor – she did not move.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl_**

Things were going wrong.

Psyche had gone off the air – her last comment had been garbled. As I ran towards her last known position, I felt pangs of worry and I had visions of disaster. Those visions seemed to come true as I came into an open area; I came to a sudden halt and my worst fears came to fruition. Stephanie was on her knees, her mask in her hands, and she stared resolute up at a man who had a large-bore pistol to her forehead.

Tears of anguish streamed down her cheeks.


	27. Predator Endgame

**_Tuesday, 10th May 2016_**

 ** _CIA Station, Toulouse  
Urban Predator Headquarters (Europe)_**

 ** _2030 Hours_**

 ** _Hit Girl with Psyche and Foxtail_**

"Hit Girl – you move, she dies!"

"Kill me – I am ready to die; I was created here you know..." Stephanie stated simply and a little morosely.

"You're going to die here you know," the man replied. "...convenient."

Over to my right, several feet away from Stephanie, I could see the prone form of Foxtail. The masked girl lay on her front, her pistol just inches from her right hand. My own pistol was aimed at the man's head – could I take the shot before that bastard shot Stephanie?

Could I take the chance?

Could I _not_ take the chance?

* * *

 ** _Shadow with Crimson_**

It was not an easy fight – not by a fucking long shot!

I fended off every strike and got in a few good blows of my own. We both got creative and manged to extricate ourselves and dive in amongst the treadmills where we drew our bō-staffs. The opposition paused – but only for a moment as two of the men watching ran over to the far wall and several jō-staffs flew through the air. Annoyingly they were not the standard wooden jō-staffs either; these seemed to be made from a synthetic material which was able to deflect our lethal blades.

Don't get me wrong, though, the staffs _were_ badly nicked.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Psyche and Foxtail_**

"You and your team will stand down," the man ordered. "You will allow yourselves to be taken under arrest."

With a jolt, I noticed that all was not lost: Foxtail was alive; her pistol was now held firmly in her right hand. If she moved much more, the man would notice. A distraction was needed...

"Kick-Ass!" I yelled as I stared beyond the man.

It worked! The man turned enough to move his pistol away from Stephanie's forehead and before the dumbass could realise his error, there was a resounding crack as a single bullet sped through the air and the man's head exploded. I saw Foxtail's hand fall to the ground with her pistol, closely followed by her head. Stephanie's face, complete with shocked expression, was covered in blood as was the front of her combat suit.

The almost headless corpse toppled to the ground.

* * *

 ** _Shadow with Crimson_**

The room was also fitted with pillars at several points – they caused problems as we swung our staffs.

One of the pillars blocked my opponents attack, but it also blocked my retaliatory strike. I was kicked in the stomach and I fell backwards across a padded bench. The man managed to get his jō-staff across my neck and he was very strong. He smiled as he believed he had the upper hand.

"End of the line, Shadow..."

"I've been there before, cunt!" I growled back as I drove an arrow which I had seized from my quiver, into his left temple with my right hand.

The man braced upwards and fell to the floor, very dead. I jumped up and ran to help Crimson who seemed to be battling two women and three men. Two more men dragged away another who clasped a bloody stump where his left hand had once been. The missing appendage lay on the ground not far from Crimson's rapidly moving feet.

My approach was seen and I was quickly intercepted by two women and a man.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Psyche and Foxtail_**

Stephanie quickly clambered to her feet and she ran over to her fallen comrade and the younger girl rolled Foxtail over onto her back.

"Are you okay?" Stephanie almost shouted as she shook the older girl.

Despite the blood and tears, Stephanie's expression showed mounting concern. Her blond hair was streaked with the fresh blood which added positively to her already purposeful demeanour. I saw Foxtail stir and she slowly lifted her head.

"Don't shout! Yes . . . I'm okay, just . . . a little winded – you better get your mask back on, girl!"

I saw a smile appear on Stephanie's face amid her obvious relief. She sheepishly looked around as she allowed me to wipe away most of the blood from her face and hair before she then pulled her mask back into place.

"She took a bullet for me..." Psyche said quietly.

"I'd do it again, too – you saved my life in Chicago, and I'll _never_ forget that," Foxtail said as she slowly sat up and struggled to her knees.

I pulled both girls back to their feet.

"Let's move," I said simply.

* * *

 ** _Shadow with Crimson_**

As I was about to take on my three attackers, I saw a blur of red and black enter the room at the far end and then the woman before me stopped dead – literally – as blood seeped from her mouth and she fell to her knees, a dazed expression on her face. As she fell the rest of the way to the floor, I cringed at the sight of a vicious six-bladed ninja star which was deeply embedded in the back of her skull.

I looked back up and my other two attackers turned to come face to face with La Coccinelle, a ninja star in each hand. I wasted no time in pulling my compound bow off of my back and nocking an arrow. I quickly sent two arrows into the nearest pair of cunts and they died very painfully. Two more men fell to the ninja stars and then La Coccinelle put the handless man out of his misery with a knife to the heart.

Crimson had put down two of her assailants and she was fighting the final three. However, before either I or La Coccinelle could come close, three rapid gunshots echoed around the room and the fight was over. We turned towards the far doorway and I smiled as Hit Girl, Foxtail and Psyche each lowered their pistols.

"When you three have stopped 'exercising', we have work to do," Hit Girl growled.

* * *

 ** _Strike Teams 1 and 2_**

As I had mentioned previously, the assault reminded me of my assault on the warehouse when Daddy had died. Night vision, strobes, the lot. Only, at that moment, I was not alone as Team 1 met up with Team 2 on the first floor.

Each team had breached one of the two staircases in the darkness using strobes, stun grenades, and overpowering force. The stairwells were littered with shattered glass, ceiling tiles, expended cartridge casings, and bodies. Several of the teams had been hit by opposing fire, but nobody was injured – I owed Fox one hell of a big thank you for his combat suits.

We made quick time as both teams advanced down the corridors towards where we believed the dormitories, and therefore the kids, were. The guard force at the facility was large and had obviously been augmented before our arrival. There was still security active and two men approached; they carried automatic weapons and they opened fire into the shadows. We fired back and both men died in a hail of bullets.

They had barely come to rest before our boots pounded through the pools of still warm blood that flowed from their shredded bodies.

..._...

We now had to tread carefully.

There would be many trainee _Predators_ about and the last thing anybody wanted was to accidentally kill, or even to wound, a young kid. The two Teams were to head down each side of the upper floor and check each and every room. The first door that we came to had a sign: **DORMITORY A**.

We smashed down the door and came to a rapid halt at the sight before us.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl_**

Arrayed from left to right were an even dozen young kids, some as young as eight, with some almost twelve. Most wore grey jumpsuits, but some wore just shorts and a t-shirt. About five were girls. They all had one thing in common, though; it was obvious from their expressions that they were all very scared.

Between us and them stood six guards, two of whom were female – all were armed and there would be no easy way to kill the guards without inadvertently injuring the kids. The guards seemed to think that the kids had their backs, so for the moment it was stalemate. The five of us, versus the six of them. According to the chatter over the comms, there was a very similar situation in the dormitory across the way with Team 3.

..._...

It was Psyche who broke the spell as she stepped forwards, her pistol aimed down at the floor. She looked directly at the kids.

"Phase 1?" She asked the younger kids, and they nodded.

"Phase 2?" She asked the older kids, and they nodded.

"I was Phase 2 – at least I was before I was terminated. You might have heard of me; I go by the name: Psyche."

There was a collective intake of breath as most of the kids seemed to recognise the name. There were also some scowls and muttered words – I heard 'traitor' and 'rat', among others. The guards just smiled.

"I saw the light; I am free – I kill when Psyche says to kill. _Nobody_ , tells me to kill – not even Hit Girl; we are equals..."

That was pushing it a bit, but I knew what she was trying to do. In my ear, I could hear Foxtail giving an almost identical lecture, although apparently, Foxtail was nowhere near as well-known as Psyche was. It was obvious that more persuasion was required.

"I am Hit Girl."

I paused for effect and I saw instant recognition.

"I see that you know my name..."

"How do we know it is really you?" Came a young voice.

"Well, I could show you my Driver's Licence, but I didn't bring it with me... So you'll just have to trust me – besides who else would have the balls to take on the CIA?"

There was a chuckle or too at my remark. The kids began to whisper amongst themselves and the guards' expressions began to show unease. I saw movement behind the guards as the kids quietly moved so that the older kids were closer to the guards. I followed the movement and so did the others; we all made some overt movements to keep the guards' attention.

There was a scuffle and two minutes later, the guards were no more. The kids just stood there, unsure of what to do. The four older kids who had just killed seemed unsure whether their actions had been right. It was fairly obvious that it was their first hand-to-hand kill but the kills had been perfect.

"You did well; very well – you all have my respect!" I assured them and they seemed genuinely pleased to be receiving respect and a compliment from somebody as famous as Hit Girl.

"Seize a weapon," Psyche ordered and almost immediately ten of the kids were armed, four with sub-machine guns and six with pistols.

The others seized a knife each. If it wasn't so sad, it might have been comical. Twelve more kids, with a fucked up future. Fuck you, Vossen! Fuck every fibre of your being! When I get my fucking hands on you...

* * *

I left Psyche in charge of the pre-teens while I wandered across to the other side of the upper floor – which was not as easy as it sounded, as bullets still flew. Team 2 were covering the stairs and all accesses to the dormitories. After some dodging about, I walked in the door of the opposite dormitory.

There the scene was different, but only slightly – this time there were no guards, but about sixteen kids in the same age ranges as we had just seen. Many of them had weapons raised and they looked ready to shoot.

"They are in two minds – most want to drop their weapons, but they are too scared," Foxtail informed me.

"I am Hit Girl – you can trust these people; Wildcat, lower your weapon..."

"That is Wildcat?" A boy called out. "She's awesome..."

I smirked and I could tell by Wildcat's stance that she was embarrassed by her fame.

"Please don't; she has one hell of an ego already!"

There was some laughter and I saw most of the weapons droop and then all but one. The boy was about twelve and he was obviously very scared.

"Lower the weapon!" I growled.

His hands shook on the weapon, his finger very close to the trigger. I had no choice but to act – I pulled my own pistol and I pointed it directly at the boy.

"You threaten my people and I _will_ react, kid..."

"What will happen to us?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know," I replied. "You will be handed over to the French authorities..."

"Can we come with you?"

"No, you cannot."

I saw him waver for a moment as he tried to sort out his thoughts. Then he dropped the pistol that had been pointed at Foxtail and he just stood there. I lowered my own pistol and holstered it. The boy began to sob and he clung onto me as he cried and to be very honest, I felt very uncomfortable. I also felt relief that I had not had to shoot the boy dead.

"You're safe," I said as I patted the young man on the shoulder.

None of what was happening to them was their fault and none of them deserved to die.

* * *

From that point, the rest of the dormitories were cleared with the assistance of the young _Predators_.

To be honest, many of the kids were eager to give up their life and threw down their weapons at the merest hint that their training was over. Several guards fell at the hands of their own trainees – I was very pleased to see them kill their former tormentors; it would help with the healing process.

Once the dormitories were clear, most of Team 3 remained to guard the floor. Team 1 and 2, plus Foxtail, headed back down to the first floor. There were still guards to kill and we needed to find those behind the whole barbaric scheme.

'Vossen . . . I am coming for you...' I thought with a smile.

* * *

 ** _Jackal with Kick-Ass_**

I kept with Kick-Ass and we headed towards the northeast portion of the building.

We knew that Psyche and Foxtail were ahead of us, somewhere. Naturally, Kick-Ass was keen to keep an eye on the two girls, especially after Hit Girl had let us both know about what had occurred earlier. Foxtail was in pain but she refused to give up and I knew how stubborn Hit Girl could be. Both girls were like sisters to me and yes, I was overprotective towards Psyche – so sue me!

We stopped at some doors on the left, and went in, just in time to see Psyche kicked across the room and hit the opposite wall, hard. The man who had kicked her had gone after Psyche to do more damage. Foxtail was fighting another man further away across the room.

Kick-Ass exploded!

..._...

"How _dare_ you touch my daughter!" he roared as he seized hold of the unfortunate man and lifted him bodily into the air before throwing him at the wall.

The man yelled with the impact and struggled to free himself from the broken plasterboard (I hate the term: dry-wall) around him. Kick-Ass never gave the man a chance to extricate himself as he kicked out with his armoured boot and I heard several ribs break amid the screams of the man.

Kick-Ass did not stop.

He was like a runaway train as he threw the man out onto the floor. Next the veteran vigilante drew a pistol and put a bullet in each kneecap. The man roared in agony.

"I'm not one for holding a grudge," Kick-Ass called out, conversationally as he put two more rounds in the man's elbows. "I leave revenge for the nutcase I have for a wife..."

If the man thought that he was being given some sort of reprieve...

Kick-Ass kicked him in the head until the man stopped moving. The man's head was no longer a head – it looked more like a partially crushed watermelon. I looked up at my friend as he began to calm down – a bit like Dr Bruce Banner, post-Hulk.

Psyche came over, as did Foxtail who had killed her man.

"You okay?" Kick-Ass asked his daughter.

"Yeah," Psyche replied as she wrapped an arm around her Dad's waist. "Love you Dad!"

"Now," Kick-Ass lectured. "Can you two keep yourselves out of trouble, or should I assign somebody to protect you both? Wildcat maybe?"

"Like hell!" Psyche almost exploded. "I am Psyche – I don't need no goddamn protection. The only people who need protection are those I'm going to kill."

"Well said, Psyche!" Foxtail chimed in.

Both girls shot out the door.

"Fucking nutcases, the both of them!" Kick-Ass growled as we followed.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Shadow_**

I had overheard Kick-Ass going nuts in defence of Psyche.

It filled me with pride. My husband could go from sweet and dorky, and straight full on rabid, in mere seconds. I wasn't over the moon about being referred to as a 'nutcase', but I was what I was. Shadow had just shrugged as she had listened to Kick-Ass going nuclear.

We both took the time to go and check on my zapped Phase 3 _Predators_. Suffice to say that they were really pissed when we arrived, however, they made no efforts to yell or shout at us.

"Are all okay?" I asked.

They each nodded, unhappily.

"I had no wish to hurt you, but I could not let you shoot us, nor get shot yourselves. Your compatriots are safe and for the moment, so are you."

"You be good now," Shadow chuckled as we moved off.

* * *

 ** _Psyche with Foxtail_**

Foxtail kicked the man in the head and he span hard into the wall where he left a small red smear as he sank to the floor.

"You always have to leave a bloody mess," I growled and Foxtail chuckled.

I had never felt so close to somebody who was not my family. Yes, she had tried to kill me on three separate occasions, but that was water under the bridge and she had repented her sins. She had also risked her own life to save mine and that weighed heavily on my heart – I had no time to consider the ramifications of her actions; I would have to wait until we had destroyed _Urban Predator_. Saoirse was like a big sister to me and we both had a lot in common.

God, I thought, we'll be fucking next!

I was _so_ desperate for the day to be over. Being back in such a place as we were in, scared me and the memories that had come flooding back to me were horrible and I was fighting to push them out of my mind so that I could concentrate on the present.

I was dragged out of my deep thoughts by Foxtail as she pointed at a door off to the left which was not quite closed – what had been dark, just turned light as somebody moved away from the door.

..._...

I pulled out my Sais and stood clear of the door. Foxtail drew her twin swords and she made ready to kick in the door. I nodded and with a well-aimed boot, the door smashed back against the wall. Bullets erupted forth and we both stood back from the door. Whomsoever was inside the room, stopped firing and I heard the very distinctive sound of a magazine being ejected – Foxtail had heard the same thing and she nodded at me.

I nodded back and we both burst into the room.

..._...

There was but a single man and he struggled to insert his fresh magazine.

I threw the Sai from my left hand it embedded into the unfortunate bastard's right thigh. He went down onto one knee as he bellowed with the pain. Foxtail ran forwards and she placed the very sharp tip of one sword to the man's throat – he dropped the pistol and the half-inserted magazine to the floor.

"I have an idea," Foxtail said as she nodded her head towards a steel tank full of water.

I scowled but I nodded my ascent.

"Let's see how _you_ feel..." Foxtail growled as she dunked the man's head into the water.

..._...

I knew from bitter experience that the water was freezing cold and it sapped at your very being as you fought against the freezing liquid that threatened to drown you and inundate your lungs. The fear as you were held under the water was intense and many victims even pissed themselves, they were so scared, either as they were led to the tank or when they were actually in it.

When they hauled your head above the water, you spluttered as you fought for life-giving air and you shivered with the cold as you felt the water running out of your nose and mouth. But before you could do much more than take a deep breath, you were plunged back under the water and the torture began again. The procedure was often repeated until you all but passed out. Luckily, there was no intent to kill, so once the ordeal was over, you were thrust into an adjacent warm shower and you were left alone to cry as you warmed up and tried to come to terms with what had been done to you.

..._...

The man being held down by Foxtail was not so lucky – I knew that there _was_ intent to kill. As he thrashed his legs and arms, I knew that water was forcing its way up his nose and down his throat as he began to panic. He would start to choke and he would open his mouth to breathe – only he would suck in a huge amount of freezing water and he would begin to drown.

How could I know that? I had almost been drowned by the sick Phase 3 bastard that had held _me_ down. I had been unable to face the swimming pool for two weeks afterwards; I had been so traumatized by the water torture.

The man's struggling began to ease but Foxtail's hold on his head did not.

* * *

 ** _Shadow with Nemesis_**

"What have you two been up to?" I asked conversationally as the two ex- _Predators_ appeared from a side room and closed the door behind them.

"Nothing – just messing about with some water torture," Psyche replied offhandedly.

"Just getting something out of my system," Foxtail added and the two girls headed off down another corridor.

"That was creepy," Nemesis admitted.

I pushed open the door which Foxtail had just closed and I took in the scene before me. There was a large steel tank, about six-foot long and full of water. There was the body of a man floating face down.

"Those two are getting creepier by the day," I agreed as I gently closed the door and I made a mental note to ask the two girls about the water tank later.

..._...

The opposition had thinned slightly, but there was still plenty of ongoing resistance. The _Predator_ kids were safe, at least the younger ones were – the older kids were armed and out defending the parts of the facility occupied by their younger kin.

The next problem was finding where Vossen and the other bastards were hiding.

* * *

 ** _Jackal_**

Something was not right about the room I was in.

The floor showed signs of plenty of foot traffic, but the room was not all that big and most of the feet headed towards... It looked like a set of shelves, only on closer inspection, there was a subtle gap on either side of a foot-foot section of shelving and as I knelt down, I noticed a mark on the floor; it was circular.

It was fairly obvious that the shelves swung out from the right, I just needed to find the catch that released them. I had no idea what might be beyond the shelves, but I figured it was not just Vossen's stash of pornos!

..._...

I found the catch and the shelves motored open, silently. Beyond them was a short corridor and then a set of stairs that descended into a basement. Whatever was at the bottom of the stairs, the lights were on and I was sure that I had seen a shadow move down there. I selected a flashbang from my belt and pulled the pin. After a count of two, I dropped the grenade down the stairs and turned away.

There was a bright flash and a crash of thunder as the grenade exploded. I heard a pair of screams. Somebody was down there all right! I ran down the steps and I saw two shapes on the floor amid the rapidly dissipating and limited smoke from the grenade. Both shapes struggled to their feet – they were obviously kids. One was much shorter than the other and was also closer – I hit them hard over the head and they crashed to the ground. It was a boy – a familiar looking boy. I turned as the other shape moved to attack – it was a girl. I easily batted away her pistol and I seized hold of the girl by her neck. I drove her hard against the wall, beside a steel door.

"Well, hello, Princess!" I growled.


	28. Predator Eradication

**_Tuesday, 10th May 2016_**

 ** _CIA Station, Toulouse  
Urban Predator Headquarters (Europe)_**

 ** _2210 Hours_**

 ** _Jackal_**

I glared at the girl.

The bitch glared back at me – she had no idea that I was the same person who had stripped her and almost killed her, just two weeks previously. I was hurting her as I forced her against the wall and I enjoyed it.

"Not quite a sunny day, but I said we'd meet again," I growled. "This time, my conscience ain't with me – so I can make you suffer, just as you deserve, you fucking sick bitch!"

I saw a hint of recognition and I felt the girl shake beneath my hand.

"Discord, wasn't it?"

The girl gave the faintest of nods and I saw fear in her eyes.

"I can think of so many reasons to snap your bitchy little neck, but nothing to stop me..."

The steel door beside me clicked open and I noticed Discord's hand move away from a keypad that was located beside the door.

"That might stop me."

"Please . . . we were forced to be here. It was punishment for what happened. We were supposed to die here..."

Goddamn my conscience and what Wildcat had said to me as I had stripped Discord naked and then tried to put a bullet in her pretty little head. I looked over at the dazed boy as he began to come around.

"Go – get that brat outta here, too."

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl_**

"My queen – may I interrupt your blood and glory killing spree?"

I laughed as I keyed the radio.

"Go ahead, Jackal."

"I have found the entrance to a bunker in the basement... Thought you might be interested..."

* * *

I was very interested and those available gathered outside the steel door.

The two ex- _Predators_ were itching to go. I had gone through both of them to ensure that they were both ready for the fight of their lives. Foxtail was hurt and so was Psyche, but neither would admit to anything which might get them removed from the operation. We were about to enter the 'inner-sanctum', so to speak, and I assumed that it would be hell on earth.

I was not wrong.

* * *

 ** _Foxtail_**

It was a fucking fallout shelter!

Through the steel door was another set of stairs, steel ones that wound downwards at least forty-feet. We had only gone down two flights out of about a dozen when gunfire erupted up the staircase from below. Shadow seized my arm and pulled me against the wall.

"Don't get yourself shot again!" she growled.

"Good advice," Psyche commented as she dropped down beside me.

"Thanks, both of you," I growled sarcastically in response.

Jackal and Kick-Ass moved up. They began to drop a carefully calculated mixture of stun and fragmentation grenades down the staircase. We had to be careful _not_ to damage the staircase, we needed what was below...

* * *

 ** _Shadow_**

As the grenades exploded and drowned out the screams of what we hoped were dying men, we ran down and down as fast as we could.

I urged everybody on as I knew that they would have blast doors down below and we had to get there before they closed them. Psyche was quick, but she was overtaken by Jackal as he jumped down several steps at once and he gained the bottom first. I heard yells and gunfire and as I burst out of the stairwell, I found my partner on the floor. He was wrestling with a large man even as others were attempting to retreat through the two open blast doors.

Without hesitation, I dropped two men with an arrow in each face as they stared at me.

* * *

 ** _Kick-Ass_**

"She leaves those damn arrows everywhere she goes!" I growled good-naturedly as I led my wife and daughter into the bunker proper.

Bullets flew and I used my armour to good advantage, but it hurt – even at twenty percent feeling. I gunned down three men in rapid succession as Psyche shot forwards and skewered a woman with her Sais. Then Foxtail joined up with her partner in crime and with Hit Girl, they vanished through another door and up some stairs.

I concentrated on bringing a fiery hell down on the remaining guards who tried to prevent our access down a long corridor.

* * *

 ** _Leon_**

It seemed that most of the action was over, but I still kept Overwatch.

After a sizeable period of no activity, I saw eight shapes move towards the main building. They seemed to have come from the Gatehouse. I was about to engage when I saw two more shapes move stealthily _away_ from the main building. I studied the shapes carefully – they were obviously kids, Phase 3 _Predators_ by the cut of them. They were not targets.

The two kids ambushed the men and instantly put two down and shot two more. I took out two as the last pair fell. The two young _Predators_ looked in my direction, but they saw nothing – I was well hidden. I watched as they ran off towards the Gatehouse and, I presumed, safety.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Foxtail and Psyche_**

The gunfire was heavy as we made our way up the staircase.

Chips of paint, wood, and concrete flew through the air and I was very glad of my full-face mask. We were low on ammunition, despite having brought in extra, so we really needed to end things quickly. I stepped forwards and received a pair of bullets in the chest for my trouble. However, I slotted a pair of cunts in the forehead in recompense.

The three of us ran forwards. We each dropped three more cunts into the remarkably soft and thick carpet beneath our boots. The corridor ahead of us was panelled and would not have looked out of place in a manor house. We stopped at the first door. It was wooden, heavily varnished, and a deep mahogany in colour.

"Girls?" I prompted.

* * *

 ** _Kick-Ass with Jackal and Shadow_**

I hated corridors!

Corridors were for nutcases like Hit Girl. However, I was not one to stand down from a fight, so I pulled out my AA-12 and went to work. As I gently caressed the trigger, 12-gauge shells erupted from the side of the weapon as death erupted from the muzzle. Beside me, Jackal was sending death of his own sort. To his right shoulder, he held a Kriss Vector submachine gun in .45ACP calibre.

The poor bastards beyond our muzzles stood _no_ chance.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Foxtail and Psyche_**

The woman seemed genuinely shocked but resigned to her fate, as her door was kicked in.

I could only imagine the sight as two, rather short, armoured individuals burst in, side by side with another armoured individual, me, standing behind them. Gunfire was evident from beyond us – she knew that she was trapped and that she could no longer escape. The woman was very obviously not the sort to fight, either – she trained people to kill . . . but never killed herself.

"All yours, girls," I growled and I gently nudged them both forwards. I would not get involved – it was _their_ fight and _their_ revenge.

Psyche pulled off her mask and so did Foxtail.

"Remember us?" Psyche asked.

The woman nodded.

"I do – I remember every child who passes through our facilities. You were one of our best, Stephanie, and you even outshone Saoirse, here..."

"Don't try any of your psychological bullshit on us, you disgusting old hag!" Saoirse growled.

The woman looked pensive for a moment.

"I have to admit that I am a little surprised to see you two operating together. You were both bitter enemies and I had noticed the resentment that built within Saoirse as you excelled, Stephanie. You had no way of knowing, but every boy and girl had a nemesis assigned; that was part of the training. After Bourne rebelled, we decided that we needed a failsafe, so we encouraged the bullying and the killing, and the resentment that it bred.

"You played directly into our hands, Stephanie, as did you Saoirse. I warned them not to cut you off, Stephanie; you were a vital asset and you were progressing much faster than any other asset we had ever trained. But _Urban Predator_ was coming apart and that was why you and your supervisor were abandoned, cut off from everything. You fought off every attempt to destroy you, Stephanie, and you can thank your training for that. The training that we gave you; it saved your life."

I noticed that the verbal sparring was beginning to irk Stephanie; like any Brit, she enjoyed making use of her superior grammar and verbal skills against us dumb Yanks, however, she often found prolonged word games irksome, especially when faced with somebody who was older and thus had a bigger, more mature, verbal vocabulary.

"I would not have needed those skills if you had not kidnapped me and made me kill my family!" Stephanie spat back. "No more children will suffer at your filthy, bloodstained hands – this ends now!"

"We are undoing everything that you have setup and we _will_ destroy it all. You have lost; you have nothing..." Saoirse added vehemently.

"I was doing everything that I could to protect my country..."

As I had suspected, Stephanie could restrain herself no longer and in one fluid movement, the young girl flew forwards, dived across the desk and kicked the woman backwards onto the floor.

"You fucking whore – enough of that incessant bullshit!"

Stephanie was beside herself with anger as she punched the woman in the face. Her punches repeatedly caused blood to fly in all directions. Saoirse sprang forwards herself and she ran around the desk where she threw her own kicks and punches into the woman's abdomen.

"We fucking owe you, you murdering bitch!" Saoirse growled as her own temper overflowed.

I stepped forwards, cautious to keep the woman in sight at all times, as well as to guard the girls' backs from the doorway. Both girls were swiftly losing control of their emotions, and I knew it – but I did nothing to stop them. They both needed the outlet so badly and they needed the closure. The woman looked towards me, and for a moment, her expression screamed out for help, but I just stared back at her without emotion, except maybe for intense hate.

There were still the sounds of sporadic gunfire in neighbouring corridors as the final few CIA defenders were routed by _Fusion_ to remind me that there was still a battle going on.

..._...

Stephanie produced a knife and without any hesitation, she jammed it into the woman's left thigh which elicited a scream of agony. Saoirse followed suit with her own blade but into the woman's other thigh. Blood spilled onto the almost clinically-clean floor, both from the stab wounds and from the woman's smashed nose and mouth.

The woman no longer struggled; she knew that death was inevitable.

"You made me kill my family..." Stephanie growled angrily, her face contorted and red with rage.

"Mine too, you fucking bitch..." Saoirse added with a sharp kick into the woman's side. "I can barely remember them, thanks to your motherfucking conditioning and drugs..."

"Stephanie, there is something that you need to know . . . you have..."

"Too damn late..."

Stephanie withdrew her knife from the woman's thigh – I had no idea what the girls had planned, but they seemed to have planned their actions. Saoirse followed suit before both girls stared down at the woman. Neither girl showed an ounce of remorse or compassion as they then looked each other in the eyes before Stephanie spoke.

"Together?"

"Always!" Her former nemesis responded.

With a nod from Stephanie, both girls plunged their blades downwards, driving the tips deep into the woman's body, ripping her heart apart.

"I – have – had – enough – of – you; despite your best, we are both still very much alive..." Saoirse growled as the woman began to lose consciousness.

"Die, you fucking bitch!" Stephanie threw in as the eyes closed for the last time.

"You girls having fun?"

I turned to find Jason standing in the doorway.

"Hell, yeah!" Stephanie grinned.

"Bit boring, really..." Saoirse commented as she made for the door.

* * *

 ** _Kick-Ass with Jackal and Shadow_**

It was over.

We had made our way down the corridor successfully with Shadow covering our backs. Nothing stirred as we walked. The tiled floor was awash with blood and other bodily fluids. The walls were streaked with the same fluids. As we sidestepped the bodies, we began to search the rooms off the corridor.

Shadow headed into what appeared to be a classroom or lecture theatre.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Foxtail, Psyche, and Spectre_**

I ran down the corridor, my pistol raised.

Behind me came Saoirse and Stephanie, with Jason covering our backs. As we passed each door, we kicked it in and searched what turned out to be plush apartments. Then we came to the end of the corridor and a corner. We all slowed as I carefully moved around it. Two men stood at the other end of the next corridor. I recognised them both: Noah Vossen and Dr Albert Hirsch. They were the ones responsible for everything that had happened. I was joined by the others and the four of us stood our ground, facing them both.

"Catch you fuckers at a bad time?" I asked.

Spectre pulled off his mask.

"Jason..." Dr Hirsch began.

"Not this time, old man – this time, you _are_ going to die," Jason explained with a smile. "Girls, go have some fun..."

"You take the fat fuck – I'll take the anal-retentive asshole," Saoirse suggested with an evil grin and she ignored Vossen's glare of contempt.

"Suits me!" Stephanie replied as she moved towards the good doctor.

* * *

 ** _Shadow_**

At first, the room seemed empty.

I walked up the sloping steps between the rows of seats and found nothing. It was just as I turned to head down again that I heard a movement behind me. I spun around to find myself facing two girls about my own age. Each wore grey joggers and a grey sweatshirt. Both were armed with a lethal looking bō-staff. I smirked – both seemed the image of a younger Mindy as they raised their weapons and they both moved apart ready to fight.

"You don't have to fight me. _Urban Predator_ is no more," I said calmly, without showing any outward hostility.

"Who gives a fuck about _Urban Predator_ , we operate alone," the girl on the left, with blonde hair, growled.

"If you are not going to fight, then you shall die, Shadow," the other girl, with fiery red hair added.

"Oh, great, a pair of psychotic bitches," I responded. "I have _so_ much experience with people like you – bring it on!"

I brought my own bō-staff from my back and I faced off against the two girls.

* * *

 ** _Jackal with Kick-Ass_**

After we had cleared all the rooms – and killed a pair of skulking guards – we went to find Shadow.

We returned to the door through which we had last seen her pass and heard the sounds of fighting. I looked at Kick-Ass and we both burst in and stopped dead. Shadow was fighting to girls of a similar age. All three wielded a bō-staff and the fighting was fast-paced and vicious. The pace was so fast that I could not easily target the girls.

I looked over at Kick-Ass and I knew that he was out of cartridges for his Taser, too.

* * *

 ** _Shadow_**

The fighting was vicious.

Both girls were very well trained and it took everything that I had to fight them both. I had a stark decision to make. I could end the fight easily, but that would mean killing them. So far – at least as far as I knew – no _Predator_ had been killed. But . . . did I have a choice? I could not keep the fight going for ever and two girls were not making many mistakes that I could take advantage of.

It was time to end it. I kicked out and caught the blonde girl in the left thigh, she staggered and I brought the razor-sharp tip of my bō-staff around and I rammed the blade into the girl's chest, just below her left lung. She froze in shock at the invasion of her body and dropped her weapon. It clattered to the floor as the girl sank to her knees, her eyes wide with the pain as I pulled my blade out and rammed the other end of the bō-staff into the red haired girl's side.

She fell beside her fellow _Predator_ in a pool of blood. I looked up and saw Kick-Ass and Jackal staring at me.

"You two go and check on the others; I'll see to these two."

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Foxtail, Psyche, and Spectre_**

Both men turned to run, but their path was blocked by the large form of Kick-Ass and the slightly smaller Jackal as they came up another set of stairs.

"Not happening," Jackal growled and he sent the men back down the corridor to their deaths.

Stephanie grinned happily and it was obvious that neither man liked the looks that the two girls were giving them.

"I came to Europe to see the sights and kill..." she explained slowly as she walked towards Vossen. "I've seen the sights..."

"Resistance is futile..." Saoirse added.

Stephanie stopped for a moment and she turned to look at her friend, a look of incredulity on her blood-streaked face.

"Really – is that the best you can come up with?"

"Hey, I am a trekky..."

"We'll talk about this later," Stephanie growled and she turned back to the two men. "Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while that you shouldn't have fucked with? That's me."

Vossen had gone very white and he shook from head to toe while Hirsch seemed much more in control of his emotions.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Foxtail and Kick-Ass_**

Vossen was to be the first to die.

Saoirse was in a lot of pain and the girl was also both physically and emotionally drained from the night's activities. She had no time for anything long and drawn out, but it was still memorable – well, maybe not for Vossen... I was not so sure that he enjoyed himself.

Saoirse seized the man by the arm and dragged him into a small, but well equipped, kitchen. I had no idea what the girl had in mind, but there was an awesome collection of improvised weapons in there.

"Kick-Ass – would you restrain the cunt, please."

Kick-Ass strode forwards and he grabbed hold of the shaking Vossen and held him in place. Saoirse grabbed his right hand and placed it on the counter. Then she seized hold of a meat tenderiser – it was basically a chunk of metal – and she brought it down on Vossen's second and third fingers.

He screamed. Blood splattered over the immaculate marble worktop and Saoirse smiled.

"Hope that didn't hurt too much; we've barely started," the ex-Predator growled menacingly.

I was more than a little surprised not have heard screaming from Hirsch, but maybe Psyche was making him suffer in a more silent manner.

* * *

 ** _Jackal with Psyche and Spectre_**

"Move the fat fuck into there."

Spectre and I grabbed an arm and moved the man into a cosy living room. At an indication from Stephanie, we both moved away from the Doctor. In a lightening move, Stephanie span and kicked Hirsch to the floor.

"You seem angry with me, Stephanie."

"You have no idea how angry I am with you, you bastard."

With that, she stomped on Hirsch's knee. The man cringed and almost yelled out with the pain, but he restrained himself. I noticed Jason's body language; he hated the man. Stephanie broke Hirsch's nose and barely got a whimper despite the blood that flowed freely. I noticed that Stephanie was annoyed with Hirsch's lack of outward reaction.

I turned as I heard a scream from down the passageway – Vossen was enjoying himself!

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Foxtail and Kick-Ass_**

Foxtail pulled open two drawers before she found what she was looking for.

She pulled out a pair of shiny poultry shears and Vossen went very pale. He seemed weak at the knees so Kick-Ass pinned him against the kitchen counter as Saoirse smiled at Vossen. She went straight for the first finger of his already damaged right hand.

"Bye, bye, finger..."

The crunch of bone was almost too much for Vossen as he screamed and then almost passed out with the pain. Kick-Ass slapped him around a bit to keep him conscious. Then Saoirse upped the ante and produced a meat-cleaver.

"Bye, bye, hand – no more wanking for you!"

The cleaver came down fast and passed through Vossen's wrist like a hot knife through butter. Mind you, butter didn't usually crunch... Not surprisingly, Vossen passed out and Kick-Ass allowed him to drop to the floor. Saoirse moved on to the second phase of her plan, which was rather gruesome.

Even for me.

* * *

 ** _Jackal with Psyche and Spectre_**

The blood was absorbed by the thick carpet beneath our feet.

As we moved there was a kind of squelching sound. Hirsch was suffering badly, but he was refusing to allow Stephanie _any_ satisfaction as she tortured him.

"Does this make you feel better, Stephanie?" Hirsch hissed through clenched teeth. "Your brother begged for his life when he was hooded and strapped to that chair."

I saw Stephanie's hands clench at the mention of her brother.

"You and that sick bitch murdered him!" Stephanie spat back with as much venom as she could muster.

"No, Stephanie, _you_ murdered your brother _and_ your parents."

" _NO!_ "

Stephanie had tears flooding down her cheeks and she turned away from Hirsch, who smiled. I strode forwards and I knelt down before the ten-year-old vigilante. Before I spoke, I hauled off my mask.

"Look at me!"

Stephanie's eyes were fixed on the floor.

"Look at me! I growled with menace and she slowly looked up and then into my eyes. Her eyes were different – Psyche was fading.

"He's fucking with you," I said calmly.

"It's what the fucker does," Jason chipped in. "Ignore his comments – you did not murder your family; you had no idea that what you did was in anyway wrong. I fell for his shit, once."

"You can do this, Steph; I believe in you. Dig deep and avenge your parents and your brother."

Stephanie nodded and she wiped away her tears of frustration and sadness.

Then I saw the fire return and Psyche was back full force. She spun around and she went to town on Hirsch with her fists and then she began to stab him with her Sais. Psyche had a very accurate knowledge of the human anatomy. She targeted all the points that would cause pain, but not immediately kill the man.

Hirsch began to scream.

* * *

 ** _Hit Girl with Foxtail and Kick-Ass_**

By the time Vossen regained consciousness, Foxtail had finished her work.

Kick-Ass gave me a look and I just shrugged – I was keeping well out of it; it was Foxtail's show. Foxtail knelt down and held a glass to Vossen's lips.

"Drink," she ordered.

Vossen drank and then gagged on the liquid.

"Feel better?" Foxtail asked.

"Fuck you!" Vossen responded.

"Well, there's plenty more where that came from," Foxtail explained as she pointed towards a glass blender which sat on the countertop. The contents were a deep red. "The bone took some shredding, but I was able to liquidise your hand quite easily..."

Vossen's expression was pure horror at what Foxtail had suggested. He looked down at the stump of his right wrist and then at the glass half filled with a red sludge. He began to wretch and then Foxtail forced his head down to the floor and pulled out a very sharp knife. It would have been the last thing that Vossen would ever see.

The man screamed as first the left and then the right eye was punctured and ripped from his head. Vossen was not going to last long – he was neither young nor in the fittest, either.

"Finish it," I suggested.

Foxtail nodded and then she swiftly stabbed the man clean through the heart.

* * *

 ** _Jackal with Psyche and Spectre_**

" _You_ made me what I am... _You_ made me a killer... Now, _I_ am going to kill _you_... Poetic, isn't it!"

Stephanie seemed very pleased with her comment and she smiled.

"Bring him to his knees."

Before I could move, Hit Girl, Kick-Ass and Foxtail joined us. Foxtail strode forwards, as did Jason, and both pulled the good Doctor Hirsch to his knees. The man was barely conscious now. I turned back to Stephanie. The smile had vanished and her cold eyes glared at the man who knelt before her as she brought a knife out from behind her and she held it horizontally with the point towards the man's neck. With a lightening move, she rammed the knife hilt-deep into his neck and then twisted it savagely. We allowed the man to fall to the floor where he gurgled for less than a minute before his body went limp.

"Fucking pussy!" Stephanie growled as she retrieved her blade, before she cleaned the blood and flesh from it on the man's trousers.

The girl turned to Saoirse, who nodded, and they both walked out of the room without giving the dead man another glance.

"Show's over motherfuckers!" Both girls growled as they went.

Jason nodded his approval and he turned to follow them, as did the rest of us, but I could not help myself – I grinned enormously.


	29. Closure

**_Tuesday, 10th May 2016_**

 ** _CIA Station, Toulouse  
Urban Predator Headquarters (Europe)_**

 ** _2350 Hours_**

It was over – for us all.

Battle Guy reported that French forces were inbound and had road-blocks out on every road, except one which led in a westerly direction, out of Toulouse. We gathered all the _Predator_ kids together in the main Cafeteria. Several were kept restrained for their and other safety. Four guards had survived and they were in the custody of several Phase 3 _Predators_ – I was not certain if the four men would actually survive the night...

Shadow was very upset about the two girls that she had put down. I told her that she had had no choice, but she was very morose as we gathered everybody together. Then it was time to leave. There were eighty-four kids who would no longer be forced into a life of killing. The French authorities would take care of them with the assistance of the British security services. La Coccinelle said her goodbyes and then she vanished.

I saw Raven talking to two young girls. Raven had spoken to me about them herself. In turn, I had had a word with Nemesis who had nodded her agreement. There was every chance that two young kids might just get to return home. Jason too had been seen speaking with two kids in particular. I was certain that Jason and Nicky would make fine parents.

I had one phone call to make.

* * *

 ** _Langley, Virginia  
United States of America_**

"Deputy Director Landy."

"I regret to inform you that Noah Vossen and Dr Albert Hirsch were set upon and killed by their charges."

"Did they suffer?"

"Horribly."

"Thank you for the news."

I smiled as I dropped the call. Somebody sounded both very pleased and very relieved.

* * *

 ** _Toulouse, France  
Echo Alternate_**

I almost sprinted into the Safehouse – I was _so_ desperate to see my kids.

They both ran at me as soon as I entered the room and then I was squeezed in a giant joint hug. Both kids seemed extremely happy and they were positively bursting to say something. Hailee had a look of concern on her face, but she was otherwise unreadable. All three still wore their bloody combat suits but with their masks removed.

"Thank God, you're both alive," I said as I sank to my knees to hug them both properly.

"We're fine, Mom – just some bruises..." Danny explained before his smile faded. "I killed a man today..."

"How do you feel about that?" I asked.

"Okay, I guess – he wanted to hurt me and my sister . . . Hailee too..."

I was very proud of Daniel at that point; his response was just as I might have expected.

"I took down two of the cunts..." Anne-Marie said proudly but then she looked unhappy. "But my swords got all bloody... Do you think SD'll be mad at me for getting blood on the swords she gave me?"

I smiled at the girl and laughed but I stopped as I saw her genuinely hurt expression.

"That happens, honey; she won't be mad at you. You were both really brave. Your Dad and I; we're really proud of you both."

I stood up and looked over at Hailee.

"I'm really sorry, Boss; I should never have let them fight..."

Anne-Marie slapped Hailee on the arm and glared up at the much older girl.

"We _talked_ about this!" She exclaimed indignantly. "What _did_ I tell you? You are injured, there was no way that you could have protected us both from six men, so stop being a pussy or I'll just have to slap it outta you."

I smirked and shrugged as Hailee grinned sheepishly at the rebuke from the young girl who was ten years her junior.

"Rogue has spoken, so suck it up Petra!" I replied with a laugh. "Thanks... Where _is_ Foxy?"

"Stop calling me that!" Saoirse announced in a very accurate imitation of Stephanie's British accent. "I would never be mad at you for getting blood on your swords; it's what they are for, after all. Just make sure that you clean them like I showed you."

"I did – they're as shiny as before..."

"Then you have nothing to worry about, honey."

"Saoirse," I said. "Thank you for the life of my kids – without your training..."

Saoirse blushed at the compliment and then blushed even worse as I hugged her tightly.

"Don't worry, I don't do that very often – at all actually," I offered as I let the embarrassed teenager go.

"Hey!" came an indignant voice from the doorway.

It was Stephanie.

"I trained the little sprogs too!" Stephanie exclaimed indignantly.

"Thank you for that, little one..."

Stephanie grimaced as I gave her a big hug.

* * *

While the equipment was packed up, I took Stephanie to one side and helped her to get herself cleaned up.

For everybody else, they removed their combat suits and pulled on normal clothes. Stephanie was not normally freaked out by the sight of blood, however on that occasion, with blood in her hair and on her face, she insisted it was all removed. The girl was exhausted, as was Saoirse, and they both struggled to remove their combat suits.

While I helped Stephanie, Morgan saw to her younger sister. Saoirse herself had blood on her skin but she was not as bothered about it as Stephanie seemed to be. There was no time for a full shower, so I just quickly washed Stephanie's hair, face, and neck to remove all traces of the blood. Finally, I had Stephanie smiling up at me with gratitude as I handed her a t-shirt and jeans to put on.

"I'm so proud of you both, well done," I said and they both smiled enormously at the compliment.

Both Saoirse and Stephanie seemed to have had a great weight lifted off of their shoulders.

* * *

 ** _Biarritz Airport_**

 ** _0830 Hours_**

The drive back to the airport in Biarritz had been tiring.

A pair of Gulfstream G650 business jets awaited us in the same hanger as before. Almost all of our equipment went onto the Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules which had absorbed the three Ford Transit vans, along with the two drones.

Just as we were about to board the two aircraft, Stephanie and Saoirse stepped forwards.

..._...

"Before we all split up, we both have something to say," Saoirse announced and then she waved at Stephanie who began to speak.

"We just want to say thank you to you all. Without you all, we could both be dead or worse. Our families are avenged and so are we. Nobody else will suffer like we did. You guys are all awesome and you have brought us both into your hearts and helped us without any thought of reward. I will always wonder what my life might have been like, if my family had never been kidnapped; I know SD will too. Mind you, if none of this had happened then I would never have met all of you. Yeah, some of you are bloody certifiable, but I love you all more than anything in the whole world.

"You have all tolerated a foul-mouthed little bitch and you've helped her to fit in, despite what she used to be or what nationality she was. Mindy and Dave took the certifiable decision to take me in as their daughter. Megan took me on as her partner. Anne-Marie and Daniel wanted me to be their big sister. Joshua and Chloe have given me shoulders to cry on..."

Stephanie stopped speaking and she bit her lip before she stared down at the concrete. Saoirse took over.

"You lot _are_ all certifiable; you took _me_ in, despite the fact that I had tried to kill a member of your team on _three_ separate occasions. I will hold my hand up and say that I was shitting myself when I found out that Hit Girl wanted my blood – nothing has ever scared me as much before or since. Just as Stephanie has, I have found a home and I can now rebuild my life as a member of a truly amazing group of people.

"In a few short weeks, I have learnt that _Fusion_ is neutral when it comes to its members. It doesn't care if you are white or black, male or female, lesbian or straight, former enemy, or certifiable nut job. My eyes have been opened onto a new life and I am looking forward to what comes out of it – the past few weeks have shown me the danger and the risks that I will face. I want those dangers – I love the rush of going into action and I would not trade any of you..."

Saoirse tailed off into silence as both ex- _Predators_ just stood there looking embarrassed.

"Well said, both of you, and thank you for some very kind words. I've never heard _Fusion_ described in that way, but I liked it."

..._...

The two teams, _Fusion_ and _Vengeance_ , each occupied a separate jet as we were both going in separate directions. That had been a tearful goodbye as everybody had hugged our British opposite numbers. Abby and Eric were particularly difficult to prise apart.

We would miss them all, and I hoped that they might be able to join us in Chicago, later on in the year.

* * *

 **The United Kingdom  
Southern England**

We flew in a northerly direction in a loose formation with the other jet, but then we went our separate ways over southern England.

Our G6 landed at the Northolt Jet Centre, a part of RAF Northolt, about twenty miles' northeast of central London. There, we were met by three men who stood beside a larger version of my own Jaguar XJ, although this one was much more heavily armoured. Four of us deplaned. One of the men was readily recognisable.

"Good afternoon, James."

"And to you, Mindy... Dave, Mindy, Stephanie, Saoirse; please meet Gareth Mallory, colloquially known as M, and Bill Tanner. M, Bill; please meet Dave and Mindy Lizewski, their daughter Stephanie and Saoirse Doherty."

The tall man shook each of our hands in turn and he smiled for the girls.

"It is very good to meet you but I am very sorry about the circumstances that brought us together."

"Thank you for all your assistance in taking those people down," I replied.

"No, thank _you_ , Mrs Lizewski. You exposed these people. I am horrified, actually embarrassed, to know that such an abhorrent scheme could fester in our own corridors of power," M responded.

"It is the world that we live in, Mr Mallory."

"Unfortunately, yes, it is..." M agreed. "Right, I have a meeting with the PM, later on, to explain this debacle, so let's get on with it, shall we."

"This way, please..." James said and he waved his hand towards a large, very black, unmarked helicopter.

..._...

The ubiquitous 'black helicopter' had no visible identification and the pilots both wore black flight suits and black helmets. The machine was an AgustaWestland AW169 and could easily seat the seven of us in comfort.

"Nice!" Stephanie commented as she strapped herself into one of the very plush leather seats.

The engines began to scream the moment that we boarded and had obviously been warmed up in advance. We took off a few minutes later and headed in a north-westerly direction. The flight took less than fifteen minutes and we soon came down into a field, a short distance from a main road. Two dark blue Range Rovers awaited us and we split up, James and his colleagues in the first Range Rover while the rest of us went in the second.

We drove for about ten minutes at high speed before we slowed and both vehicles pulled over to the side of the road in a small village. Mallory climbed out and he walked back to us while Tanner and Bond walked a few yards down the road.

I opened the door and Mallory began to explain what was going on.

"This man headed up the MI5 end of _Urban Predator_. He was directly responsible for keeping an eye on British families with young children. He would select those children that might be of use to the programme. He is directly responsible for you, Stephanie, becoming whom you are today."

I saw Stephanie scowl and from her body language, I knew that her anger was building.

"He may also be responsible for you, too, Saoirse."

Saoirse was already scowling but now her eyes narrowed and she looked very pissed, to put it mildly.

"I will make the introductions and once Bond has secured the premises – the bastard will be all yours..."

* * *

Mallory walked up the path that led to a large cottage.

He knocked loudly on the door. A minute later, the door opened and a tall man stood on the threshold with a look of confusion on his face at the unexpected crowd of people who had just arrived at his door.

"Kenneth!" Mallory called out. "May we come in?"

"Of course, Gareth... Who?"

"All in good time..." Mallory offered impatiently as he pushed past Kenneth.

Bond appeared from deeper in the cottage along with Tanner – where had they come from? The man, Kenneth, appeared more shocked than we were that two men were already in his home.

"What is this, Gareth?"

"Kenneth, I am here to introduce you to your misdeeds," Mallory explained. "The young lady, here, is called Stephanie and she no longer has her parents or her brother; she killed them..."

"What?"

"She killed them while under the influence of a despicable programme called _Urban Predator_..."

I saw instant recognition when _Urban Predator_ was mentioned – he would make a very bad poker player, not that he would ever get the chance to play...

"You are directly responsible for this young girl's suffering, Boyd, and it is now time to pay the piper, or maybe that should be the devil," Mallory finished without any emotion in his voice.

Kenneth Boyd went white; he knew what was coming and I could tell that he knew that there was no way to escape the inevitable.

"I don't suppose that there is anything I can say..."

"No, there is not."

"I am truly sorry, young lady, I really am – not that that is going to change anything that I have done."

Stephanie glowered at the man, as did Saoirse.

"Tanner; it's time to leave. Goodbye, Kenneth, we won't meet again – I have no intention of going to hell when I die... Mr and Mrs Lizewski, 007 will remain with you."

Bond nodded and headed out the door after his boss and he was followed by Tanner. The door closed and I turned to face Kenneth Boyd.

* * *

The man showed no outward signs of fear, but I was certain that the fear was in there and fighting to get out.

"Kneel!" Saoirse growled. The man looked up at myself and Dave. He hoped for some form of reprieve. We both turned and walked to the door before we both turned to face Kenneth Boyd for the last time.

"Goodbye," I said simply and we both left the room.

From the next room, we both heard the actions on a pair of automatic pistols cycling as they stripped a round from the magazine and thrust it smoothly into the breech. Then came the muted sounds as two rounds were fired followed by a thud as a body hit the ground.

Both girls appeared and they both holstered their pistols.

"All good?" I asked.

"All good," both girls replied together.

..._...

Bond returned quietly and he stood behind Stephanie.

"Is 'Psyche' short for something?" Bond enquired casually " _Psych_ -otic maybe?"

Stephanie scowled but raised to the bait.

"Why are you named after the international dialling code for Russia?" She retorted with a snide smile. "Or are you just into _bond_ -age?"

"Snappy, yet pretentious – a dangerous combination in any woman..."

Stephanie thought for a moment.

"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

Bond nodded approvingly before he responded.

"Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it."

"I've read Mark Twain, asshole!" Stephanie retorted. "Two wrongs don't make a right."

"The pen is mightier than the sword," Bond challenged.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."

"Fortune favours the bold."

"Better late than never."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Saoirse chimed in.

"Good one!" Bond agreed.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch," Dave added.

I thought long and hard but failed miserably: "Don't run with scissors..."

"I am embarrassed to refer to you as my mother!" Stephanie growled.

"Easy come, easy go," I muttered to myself.

"Better!" Bond said cheerfully.

* * *

 ** _Sky News excerpt..._**

"In foreign news, it was reported today that several employees of the American Central Intelligence Agency have been found dead at an undisclosed site in Toulouse, France. The French Government have refused to comment on the events that led to the deaths of CIA Deputy Director Noah Vossen and Dr Albert Hirsch. Rumours abound that an unknown group of well-armed mercenaries were part of the operation that took down an illegal CIA operation which is reported to be closely related to _Operation Blackbriar_ that became front-page news, around a decade ago. A spokesman for the Central Intelligence Agency has refused to comment on the reports.

"Closer to home, a man was found dead in his home, in the village of Theale. The details of the man's injuries have not been revealed by authorities. Neighbours report that the forty-eight-year-old man lived alone and he was not known to have any relatives. Police say that there are _no_ suspicious circumstances.

"In other news, conspiracy theorists have been flooding the internet with talk of a black helicopter that landed in fields not far from the village of Bradfield, despite local authorities denying any knowledge of such an aircraft. Conspiracy theorists believe that black helicopters are used by the Government to undertake nefarious activities, however, there is very little evidence of their existence."

* * *

 ** _Wayne Industries Gulfstream G650  
Altitude: 41,850 feet  
Speed: 488 Knots  
Course: 289°_**

We were at our cruising altitude and well on our way back to the United States when I noticed that Abby was busy pounding away on her laptop, which I noticed had been painted a dark grey to cover the blood.

It was her expression which had intrigued me and that was the reason why I walked aft and took a vacant seat beside her. Abby seemed very concerned about something.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I found something and I wish I hadn't but I'm also glad that I did, I think..."

"Abby – English please, for us mere mortals."

Abby grinned.

"Marty sent over some more decrypted files – I now have Stephanie's full and mostly unredacted file. It tells us everything that happened to her while she was being trained but it also raises some disturbing questions. It talks about her parents..."

"She killed them..." I interrupted.

"Yes – she did, and the file confirms that; I got photos too – however, there's a question mark over her brother, James."

"She killed him, too," I replied – a little confused by what Abby was getting at.

"As far as we know, yes... However, I also have a file here for one James Reeman – his name was changed to James Carter for his training. He was supposed to have been killed by his sister as part of her indoctrination, only according to his notes, he seemed to exhibit something that his watchers liked and another boy was put in his place... He began to train, about two months' after Stephanie began her own training – in another training centre. According to the records, their paths crossed at least twice. The boy will be nine at the beginning of October."

"Will be? Is he alive?"

"According to the records, he was last seen in England, about two months ago – there's nothing to say that he is alive but nothing to say that he is dead either."

I gazed down the length of the jet to where Stephanie was giggling away with Anne-Marie and Megan. The girl was _so_ happy – as far as she was concerned, her past was behind her and both her family, and Miranda, had been avenged. How could I introduce doubt now?

"We have a difficult choice, Abigail..."

"Yeah – do we tell her?"

Stephanie looked up and she saw me watching her – she smiled at me and then went back to her laughing and giggling. She was so happy; how could I destroy that...

Why could nothing in my life be plain black or white; it always had to be fucking grey!

* * *

 ** _An hour later_**

Mindy called the twins over so that we could go through their After Action Reports.

"Anne-Marie, Daniel."

"Yeah, Mom."

"Can we talk about your AARs?"

The twins walked down to the rear of the aircraft and sat down next to Mindy, Chloe, Hailee and me.

"Anne-Marie, your handwriting sucks, not to mention your grammar – how about you take us through what happened, step-by-step," I suggested.

"Okay, Dad – but in my defence, I am only eight..." Anne-Marie replied with her shit-eating smile. "Ready?"

"Go ahead," Mindy replied.

"We were having fun... Hailee was telling us a story about her early days in Chicago when an alarm went off. Hailee checked the computer and we saw men approaching the Safehouse – they were armed..."

"... We were in our combat suits, with our weapons – so we pulled on our masks and Hailee checked us over to ensure that we were ready..." Danny added.

"...Hey, I was getting to that – _my report_!" Anne-Marie cut-in angrily.

"Go ahead, mega-mouth..."

Before a full-blown argument ensued, I got Anne-Marie back on track.

"What happened next...?"

"Petra suggested that we make our stand inside. She said that running might get us killed. I was scared; it was just the three of us. I knew that Petra was injured and that while she would fight to the death, I knew that Danny and I had to help, somehow. We had our weapons and we knew how to use them.

"The men broke in – I think they used a battering ram... There was a lot of noise and then four men appeared in the room – they were all armed with pistols, Berettas I think. They stopped when they saw us and I was surprised that they didn't just shoot us. Petra put herself between them and us, called out the codewords and drew her swords. Petra then threatened them; which didn't work – she said it wouldn't... We both stepped up beside Petra and drew our blades."

"They laughed at us..." Danny interrupted dejectedly.

"Let them," Chloe said. "You are better than them. Don't you ever allow anybody to make you feel bad about yourself, about who you are."

Danny and Anne-Marie both nodded.

..._...

Anne-Marie continued her report.

"One of them said that we might hurt somebody with our swords . . . that made me mad, so I said, 'That's kinda the point, you stupid dumb fuck'..."

Anne-Marie tailed off into an embarrassed silence.

"Interesting choice of words, Rogue..." I commented.

Anne-Marie blushed.

"I, err, said, 'bring it on, motherfuckers'," Danny added and he looked ashamed.

"You too, Ravage..." I added.

"Sorry," Danny blushed.

"No – you did good," Mindy cut in. "Continue..."

"Petra ordered us to attack, so we did... They brought out their retractable club thingys, but they were no match for our blades and armour – they hurt when they struck us, but that was all. I slashed a man across his stomach. My blade cut through his jacket and caught him just below his Kevlar vest – my blades were clean up to that point and that annoyed me, so I stabbed him with the other sword – got blood on that one too – he died.

"Petra had dropped two men and Danny had taken the last one – chopped the guy's arm off at the elbow before stabbing him in the stomach. Then two more men appeared from the doorway; one of my swords was still embedded in that man's stomach, so I drew my pistol and put a bullet into the head of the first man through the door. Petra killed the last man with a knife – it hit him right between the eyes."

Chloe nodded approvingly as Anne-Marie finished.

"Damn well done, Rogue, and that applies to you as well, Ravage," Chloe said and the twins blushed and smiled at the compliment.

"It was a brilliant shot, Mindy," Hailee confirmed.

* * *

After Anne-Marie had finished her After Action Report, I went for a walk around the plane.

Megan and Stephanie were talking to Joshua and the young man was blushing. Both girls were thanking him for helping them both over the previous weeks. He had given them both council and he had been there when they had needed him on a personal level.

"Without you, we might both be dead," Megan commented.

"We love you, Josh, and thank you for being there when we needed you," Stephanie added.

Joshua did not seem to know what to do with himself as both girls gave him a deep and meaningful hug. I smiled at him in encouragement.

Chloe and Hailee just laughed at Joshua's obvious discomfort.

* * *

 ** _Chicago, United States of America_**

After a flight of almost four-thousand miles and nearly nine-hours cooped up in a relatively tiny aluminium tube, I was never happier to hear the chirp of the tyres as they bit into the tarmac at Chicago Midway Airport.

The time zones had completely fucked with my body clock, so I had no real idea of what day it was. I was knackered, and so was everybody else. The younger kids were worse than knackered, they were overtired and grumpy. The squabbling had started somewhere over Canada and had resulted in Stephanie slapping her younger sister across the face. The older girl had instantly regretted her action and it had not been _entirely_ her fault – Anne-Marie learnt a valuable lesson about winding up tired people who were more likely to respond with violence, rather than words.

As far as I knew, it was late on Wednesday evening, local time. As the jet taxied into a hanger and came to a halt, I saw the welcoming committee, but all I wanted was my bed and about a month's worth of sleep...

* * *

 **The Fusion Ultimatum** _is not yet over, however, the storyline continues in_ **Chapter 272: Shit Storm – Part I** _of_ **Forsaken** _._


	30. Epilogue

_This is the continuation of the storyline from_ **Chapter 275: Shadow Revealed** _of_ **Forsaken** _._

* * *

 ** _Sunday, 22nd May, 2016_**

 ** _Memorial Park Cemetery  
Chicago, United States of America_**

"What are we doing here?"

"All will become clear, Stephanie."

We were walking through a cemetery and despite how I had spent the past couple of years and what I did when I went out at night, I hated cemeteries. Why were we walking between row upon row of graves?

Mindy and Dave stopped at what was obviously a fresh grave. I pushed between them and froze as I saw the gravestone and what had been carved into the highly polished dark marble.

 ** _Here lies a Hero_**

 ** _Miranda  
Swedlow_**

 ** _She gave her life  
so that another could live_**

 ** _Died, April 27th 2016, aged 28_**

 ** _'Aurora'_**

I was completely and utterly stunned. I felt a cold chill run from the top of my neck, right down my spine to my tailbone. The stone was beautiful, so beautiful, and it must have cost a bomb. I could not take my eyes off the stone.

"When did...? How did...?"

"After she died, I used my contacts to have her body recovered and repatriated. Marcus arranged for the burial plot. She was back in the US long before we were," Mindy advised.

I still could not tear my eyes away from the stone, especially the nine words in the middle. She died protecting me. I was 'another'. I had no idea how to respond. I could come up with only two words.

"Thank you."

Two words that barely seemed to even attempt to cover what Dave and Mindy had done for me. However, it was all that I could think of to say as I felt the tears fall unimpeded down my cheeks.

* * *

 ** _Stirling, Scotland  
Blairhoyle_**

Commander Richard Perrin, his wife, Alexandra, and his daughter, Cassie, stood uneasily as the car pulled up a few feet away on the large gravel drive of their home.

Out of the front passenger seat, came a tall young man, Cameron King. He opened the rear door of the Corinthian grey Overfinch Range Rover and two young girls of eight and nine emerged. Out of the driver's seat, came Natasha King. The two young girls looked very scared at the rather obvious and intimidating welcoming committee.

Cameron passed the two girls over to his twin, who stepped forwards, a small hand in each of her own. She led the two girls up to the front door of the large house.

"Naomi, Kaitlin. Please meet Richard, Alexandra, and Cassie."

* * *

 ** _That same time, in another time zone_**

The room was small by most standards, but the boy had lived there for two months.

The eight-year-old boy was of average height and he had light brown hair that generally refused to lie flat. His eyes were brown and they seemed filled with sorrow rather than the happiness that was normally expected for a boy of his age.

The boy was startled as the door to his room burst open. It was his handler.

"Here, kid..."

A small packet was thrown at him, which was easily caught by the boy.

"What's happening?"

"You're on your own, kid – that lot, there, should see you right."

The boy ripped open the packet and stared at the contents which spilt out onto his bed.

"Good luck – we won't meet again."

With that the man vanished and a minute later the front door was heard to open and then close. The boy knew that he was very much alone – he may have only been eight-years-old but he had skills; some anyway, so he was not unduly worried. Not for the moment, at least. He studied the contents of the packet.

There was a VISA bank card, in his name, plus a pair of bank passbooks, again in his name. Under those, there was a thick wad of bank notes. He flipped through them – they were all crisp, new, £20 notes. The final item was a burgundy passport which the boy opened at the photo page. Unsurprisingly, the photo was of himself and the name was his current name.

James Carter began to gather his limited possessions and as he did so, he began to plan his future.

* * *

 _That is the end of_ **The Fusion Ultimatum** _._

 _However:_

 _The_ Fusion _storyline continues in_ **Chapter 276: Party Time** _of_ **Forsaken** _._

 _The story of James Carter will continue in_ **Chapter 1: Kidnap** _of my upcoming story_ **Predator** _._

 _Aiden Maxwell, last seen in_ **Chapter 25: Toulouse** _of this story, will continue his life in a forthcoming chapter:_ **A New Boy at The Manor** _of my story_ **Dark Days in Gotham** _._

 _The two girls mentioned above, Naomi and Kaitlin, previously seen in_ **Chapter 26: Predator Showdown** _of this story, will feature in my upcoming story_ **Vengeance** _._


End file.
